OPQS rider Zdenek Stybar finished 23rd in the 191km Stage 1 of Tour de l'Eurométropole on Thursday, after Niki Terpstra made an original breakaway that was eventually reduced in number and then caught.

The race came back together at 11km to go, and then 5km to go after a few attacks, and the peloton made sure the first stage with a slight uphill finish was a bunch sprint finale, even if it was a bit hectic.

Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) won, with Adrien Petit (Cofidis) 2nd, and Jens Keukeleire (Orica-GreenEDGE) 3rd.

OPQS looks next to 171km Stage 2 on Friday.