The 63rd Circuit Cycliste Sarthe began on Tuesday with stage 1 from Sablé-sur-Sarthe to Varades at 188,2 km. A mass sprint came at the end with Team Katusha’s Alexey Tsatevich earning fourth place. 

"We expected a more selective stage today, but in the end it was a day for sprinters. The break was caught in the last km and it was a bunch sprint. Alexey started with 250 meters to go, but at one moment was a little bit blocked and finished 4th. We are looking forward for harder stages in the coming days. Tomorrow we will have a road stage in the morning and a time trial in the afternoon. We will see how it goes; our team is ready," said team director Dmitry Konyshev. 

The late catch of the three breakaway riders set the stage for the big sprint with Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) taking his first victory in 2015. Rounding out the top three were Nathan Haas (Team Cannondale-Garmin) and Raymond Kreder of Team Roompot. Bouhanni will wear the leader’s jersey in Wednesday’s opening stage. 

A break of three went away early and built up an advantage of more than 11 minutes. Despite the large gap, the teams of the sprinters methodically worked to bring them back, leaving it a little short by only reeling back the final two riders in the last kilometer. 

Wednesday’s morning stage is 83,9 km from Varades to Angers. The profile features an up-and-down day but a slight downhill into the finish line. The time trial in the afternoon is a short one at 6,8 km.