Pays de la Loire Tour: Bryan Coquard takes overall lead with stage 1 win

SAINT-GILLES-CROIX-DE-VIE, FRANCE - APRIL 04: Bryan Coquard of France and Team Cofidis celebrates at finish line as stage winner ahead of Arnaud Démare of France and Team Groupama - FDJ during the 1st Region Pays de la Loire Tour 2023, Stage 1 a 150.9km stage from Saint-Père-en-Retz to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie on April 04, 2023 in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, France. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Bryan Coquard wins the opening stage of Pays de la Loire Tour (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) won the opening stage of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour on Tuesday. EF Education-EasyPost’s Marijn van den Berg took second and Manuel Peñalver (Burgos-BH) finished third.

The sprint victory was Coquard’s second this year and marked the 50th career win for the Frenchman.

Jackie Tyson
North American Production editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).

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