Arnaud Démare, Riley Sheehan and Kasper Asgreen lose shot at 4 Jours de Dunkerque in a crash-mared finale of the opening stage

The profile of opening stage of 4 Jours de Dunkerque promised a pretty straight-forward day for the sprinters. But a tricky finish circuit along with roads soaked by rain made for a havoc in the last kilometers, with multiple pre-race favourites hitting deck and losing massive portions of time.

Arnaud Démare turned out to be one of the victims of one of the crashes, which was a hard blow for the leader of Arkéa - B&B Hotels. He made his return at Dunkerque after a two-month absence, suffering injuries to his right side. However his ream reassured that Démare can continue the race.

Top favorites Riley Sheehan and Kasper Asgreen also lost a lot of time, probably due to the same crash. Whether the two suffered any injury and will be fit to continue the race remains to be seen. For now it's certain their GC ambitions are well over.

Tommorow's stage 2 starting in Wimereux will take riders for a trip on the coast of Atlantic in an opposite direction from Dunkerque, on a day that should once again lead to a bunch sprint.