After three days of working for Nacer Bouhanni, FDJ.fr proved that they also have something to day when it comes to the GC in Paris-Nice. Arthur Vichot emerged as one of the best climbers on the steep Cote du Mont Brouilly and has now positioned himself for a top result in the GC.

With this year's Paris-Nice course being one for the punchy guys, it is perfectly suited to a rider like French champion Arthur Vichot. Yesterday he proved that he is up for the challenge of fighting for the GC when he finished with the best in the first hilly stage of the race.

Vichot crested the summit of the final climb in the 8-rider chase group that was in pursuit of the two duos Geraint Thomas/Tom-Jelte Slagter and Ion Izagirre/Wilco Kelderman. While they managed to catch the latter, their cooperation was sparse and the former leading par stayed away to the finish.

More riders joined the group from behind - including Vichot's teammate Arnold Jeannesson - and in the end Vichot sprinted to a fine 6th to move into 11th on GC, with Jeannesson sitting in 10th. However, he lamented the lost opportunity to gain more time on GC.

"The climb of the Côte du Mont Brouilly proved as difficult as it seemed," he said. "I crested the summit on the wheel of Carlos Betancur and I did a good climb but unfortunately the chasing group in which I found myself, was not able to cooperate behind the two leading men, Tom Slagter and the new yellow jersey Geraint Thomas. 

"It's a shame because there were strong men in this group and we could have done a good deal for the general classification. Even if the script was not one I would have liked, I draw a positive assessment of this day. I was with the best on the climb and there are still four big stages to come."

"The day is positive, with Arthur in the top 5 at the top of the climb and Arnold just behind him," sports director Franck Pineau said. "Both were present and I'm sure that they will finish high in GC. The team is doing well with three great teammates, Anthony Geslin, Benoît Vaugrenard and Cédric Pineau. Geoffrey Soupe is still suffering [from gastroenteritis] but he is still in the race."

You can read a preview of stage 5 here and follow our live coverage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.