Tour de Picardie (st. 1)

Jesús Herrada and Iván Gutiérrez –combativity prize awarded of the day-, on the break for nearly all the stage, and Sanz -6th at the final bunch kick- make the French race's top ten

Movistar Team played their cards well during the inaugural ride of the 66th Tour de Picardie, starting today in northern France with a rolling, 166-kilometer stage from Clermont to Braine. The telephone squad led the way all day with the duo attempt by Iván Gutiérrez and Jesús Herrada, who accompanied Leonardo Duque (COF) and Jonathan Hivert (SAU) on a four-rider breakaway in the lead for more than 140k.

The quartet crossed first through the two intermediate sprints of the day, making Gutiérrez –who was awarded the Combativity prize today- and Herrada jump into 7th and 9th overall respectively, the GC led by German John Degenkolb (ARG) as he won the bunch sprint where Enrique Sanz took the 6th spot in the day’s rankings and the same position in the leaderboard. Another opportunity for him will be coming on Saturday as 178 kilometers are covered from Tergnier to Villers-Bocage, again with bonus seconds at rushes and at the arrivée.