Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ) claimed the opening stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne on Thursday.
The 21-year-old blasted through the 5.4km solo individual time trial prologue in Laval to take his first pro win over compatriot Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) by three seconds.
Results
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HG Cross Heerderstrand: Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado delivers assured ride to triumph in elite women's race
Betsema and van Alphen sprint for second as van Empel continues comeback trail in fifth -
Tom Pidcock finishes career-best fifth in UCI rankings with Pinarello Q36.5 bringing in major reinforcements for 2027
British rider leads Swiss ProTeam to 12th in rankings, ahead of six WorldTour teams -
'The only way to beat Pogačar is through time trial kilometres' - Tom Dumoulin backs Remco Evenepoel at 2027 Tour de France
Former pro says greatest time trial distance since 2013 'gets my heart racing' and may be the only way to tackle UAE dominance -
'An alien like Tadej Pogačar might be able to do it' – Red Bull boss Denk would prefer Remco Evenepoel doesn't do Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double in 2027
Belgian looks set to return to the Tour after runner-up finish in 2026, but could he also go back to the Giro for first time since 2023?
