Dumoulin wins in France

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Samuel Dumoulin has won Europe's first professional race of 2012, the GP La Marseillaise. In a sprint from a 15-man group, the Cofidis rider proven to be the freshest at the end of a demanding race held in cold and windy weather conditions. Dumoulin outsprinted Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) and Arthur Vichot (FDJ-BigMat) to take the lead in the French Cup standings.

The 148 kilometre race was marked by several breakaways and attacks. A first group including Dumoulin's teammate Rein Taaramae as well as Rémi Cusin (Type 1), Rémi Pauriol (FDJ-BigMat), Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R La Mondiale), Cyril Lemoine (Saur-Sojasun), Franck Vermeulen (Véranda Rideau U) and Bert-Jan Lindeman (Vacansoleil) was caught before the decisive Col de la Gineste, 20 kilometres from the finish line outside Marseille's Stade Velodrome.

Mikael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale) was the first to accelerate, breaking up the field. A group of 12 riders created a gap and Dumoulin, together with Vichot and Jérémie Galland (Saur-Sojasun, fourth-placed) bridged up.

"When I saw Arthur and Jérémie jump, I knew it was the right moment to go," Dumoulin told AFP. "The last descent did not cause any problems. In the finale, I manoeuvred well." However, the finish on Avenue Michelet "doesn't suit me too well," he added to Velochrono. "Everybody marked me and noone dared to launch the sprint. I passed by moving up the barriers."

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