Fabien Canal (Armee de Terre was one of the protagonists in the first stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne but his 4-rider breakaway was caught before the finish.

"The agreement was very good in the break," he told Directvelo. "We had all more or less different objectives. I did the intermediate sprints and Clement (Koretzky) the KOM sprints.

 
"I crashed a week and a half ago so I could not ride for a week. That's probably why I had cramps rather quickly in the second half of today's stage."