Pim Ligthart (Lotto Soudal) claimed victory at the Grand Prix La Marseillaise with a well-timed sprint that saw him finish ahead of last year’s winner Kennerth Vanbilsen (Cofidis) and Antoine Demoitié (Wallonie-Bruxelles).

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) were among the starters for the traditional curtain-raiser to the French season, which took the peloton on a 140-kilometre loop around the hinterland of Marseille, with five categorised climbs on the agenda.

"The season couldn't have started better. I trained hard this winter and it's fantastic I immediately benefit from it," Ligthart said.

The early break was formed by Conor Dunne (An Post-Chainreaction), Steven Tronet (Auber 93), Frederik Veuchelen (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Thomas Vaubourzeix (Veranclassic-Ekoi) and Julien Duval (Armée de Terre), and they were later joined by Eoin McCarthy (An Post-Chainreaction).

Their lead touched nine minutes with 100 kilometres remaining but began to melt away thereafter as Bretagne-Séché took up the reins of the pursuit in a bid to set up Romain Feillu for the win, and the leaders were caught inside the final 20 kilometres.

Carlos Quintero (Colombia) tried his luck on the day’s final climb, the Col de la Gineste, and he was later joined a by small group that included Davide Rebellin (CCC-Polsat) but they too were swept up on the run-in to the finish.

In the ensuing sprint in the shadow of the Stade Vélodrome, home of Olympique de Marseille, it was Ligthart who emerged to take his first win since a stage of the Ster ZLM Toer in 2013.

"Our team was relaxed in the bunch and I could save my strengths. Cofidis led the chase and the escapees got caught. I was well positioned and started the sprint," Ligthart said. "I looked next to me a few times and didn't see anyone passing by, so I started to believe in it. It's really nice to win this way."

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