4 Jours de Dunkerque: Milan Fretin wins stage 1 in extremely tight sprint

The opening stage of 4 Jours de Dunkerque was quite a difficult one to manage towards the end due to the rainy conditions, but a bunch sprint still decided the outcome of the day as Cofidis took the stage win with Milan Fretin.

The breakaway of the day was formed by Dean Harvey, Gwen Leclainche, Maxime Jarnet, Antoine Hue and Joris Delbove. Jarnet and Leclainche were the final survivors but the rainy conditions made it tough out there and the peloton caught them with 16 kilometers to go.

The peloton slowly increased it's speed towards the finish in Le Touquet, where the bunch sprint was slowly approaching with a lot of tension to avoid crashes.

The final kilometer saw a couple corners that, in the wet, favoured those who took the right risks. This was the case with Paul Hennequin of Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur who gained a few meters in both corners. The Frenchman also took a career-changing win in incredible fashion, but Cofidis launched the sprint and Fretin was superior to all others in the finale; only overtaking his rival in the final meters of the stage. Sam Bennett rode to third.