Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels – Vital Concept) won the opening stage of the Route d’Occitanie in a crash-marred finale.
The Frenchman was faster than Elia Viviani (Cofidis) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain McLaren), and takes the leader’s jersey in the four-day race in southeastern France.
“It was a difficult finish,” said Coquard. “Jens Debusschere got me into a very good position, and then just before the last bend Colbrelli and Viviani went through on my inside. Colbrelli opened his sprint right away and I got onto Viviani’s wheel. Colbrelli faded about 50 metres from the line and I just managed to get past Elia before the line.
Route d’Occitanie 2020 – stage 1 results (Saint-Affrique – Cazouls-lès-Béziers):
| 1 | Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels – Vital Concept) | 4:35:00 |
| 2 | Elia Viviani (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 3 | Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain McLaren) | ,, |
| 4 | Andrea Pasqualon (Circus – Wanty Gobert) | ,, |
| 5 | Clement Venturini (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 6 | Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) | ,, |
| 7 | Josef Černý (CCC) | ,, |
| 8 | Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 9 | Anthony Maldonado (St Michel – Auber 93) | ,, |
| 10 | Nick Van der Lijke (Riwal Readynez) | ,, |
Route d’Occitanie 2020 – general classification after stage 1:
| 1 | Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels – Vital Concept) | 4:34:50 |
| 2 | Elia Viviani (Cofidis) | +04” |
| 3 | Lilian Calmejane (Total Direct Energie) | +05” |
| 4 | Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain McLaren) | +06” |
| 5 | Andreas Kron (Riwal Readynez) | +09” |
| 6 | Andrea Pasqualon (Circus – Wanty Gobert) | +10” |
| 7 | Clement Venturini (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 8 | Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) | ,, |
| 9 | Josef Černý (CCC) | ,, |
| 10 | Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
