Tom Van Asbroeck finished sixth in the first stage of the Tour du Poitou Charantes. Sep Vanmarcke led out team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter well in the French heat, but home rider Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) took the flowers today.

“It was 38 degrees,” Sports Director Frans Maassen said. “The riders drunk and refreshed continuously, but the day took its toll. It’s always a good thing when the sun shines, but this time it did so intensely.

“It went quite well for us. We expected a bunch sprint because all the French teams brought along sprinters in their teams. We did our best to lead out Tom Van Asbroeck. Sep Vanmarcke especially played a decisive role.

“Tom benefited from Danilo Napolitano’s (Wanty - Groep Gobert) slipstream, but when he erred, Tom lost position.”

The race will continue tomorrow and Van Asbroeck, under the guidance of the team in yellow and black, will try again.