Swiss Arnaud Tendon surprisingly won the first stage of the Tour de la Provence, 163km from Marseille to Saint Victoret.

The race, on a rolling course but with a finish suited to sprinters, featured a long five-man breakaway: Tendon, Mattia Bais, David Zanutta, Jonas Walton, and Bailey McDonald. In pouring rain, the attackers built a significant lead, though as the kilometers ticked by, the peloton began to catch up again. However, it was unsuccessful: Tendon and Bais managed to reach the finish line, with Tendon leading the Polti rider.

For 23-year-old Tendon of Van Rysel Roubaix, this is his first professional race win. Luke Lamperti made the podium today, leading the chasers ahead of Anthony Turgis, Hugo Page, and Lorenzo Germani.

Tomorrow is the second stage with an uphill finish at Montagne de Lure after 174.9 km.