Trentin wins Tour de l'Ain opener

Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) won the opening stage at the Tour de l'Ain on Wednesday and claimed the first leader's jersey of the four-day French race that ends Saturday in Belley.

Trentin won the field sprint after 160km of racing from La Plaine Tonique to Saint-Vulbas, out-kicking Rudy Barbier (Roubaix Métropole Européenne) and Phil Bauhaus (Bora-Argon 18).

"I am very happy with this win, especially as it shows my good condition," Trentin said in a statement released by his team.

A three-rider breakaway that included Alexandre Geniez (FDJ), Arnaud Gerard (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) and Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) slipped away from the bunch in the early going, but a concerted chase from Trentin's team steadily whittled the group's ultimate advantage of more than three minutes to just 30 seconds as they entered the finishing circuits.

The peloton made the catch with 10km to go, and the Etixx-QuickStep lead-out train picked things up in the final kilometres to put Trentin in position for the win.

"Davide Martinelli did a great job leading me out, and in the final 350 meters I entered sixth on a really long bend, from which I came out third," he said.

"That was very important, as I could launch my sprint the way I wanted. I have to thank the team for the trust they had in me and for protecting me throughout the day. I hope to give it another go tomorrow, depending on how the race will unfold, and then help our GC guys in the last two stages."

Thursday's 166km stage takes riders from Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne to Montréal-la-Cluse.

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