Lander lands the first blow

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Danish rider Sebastian Lander won in a mass sprint at the end of the 140.7km Coupe des Nations - Ville de Saguenay first stage. With an average speed of 45.57km/h, numerous breakaway attempts had no chance, with none ever gaining more than 30 seconds over the active field on a flat circuit.

The 19-year-old Scandinavian was pleased with the outcome of the day "With 50km to go, my teammates asked me to get ready for the mass sprint so I started to save myself, and they helped me postion myself perfectly until 500 metres to go - I am glad I can thank them with this win," said Lander afterwards.

Lander grabbed the yellow overall leader's jersey and thanks to time bonuses, he now has a four-second lead over German Phillip Ries, who finished second on the stage, and six seconds over Canadian Hugo Houle, who took third in Jonquière.

Houle was pleased with his third place "I am happy with how things unfolded for me. This is my best result so far at this level," said the young Canadian.

The Ste-Perpetue (Quebec) native was even more so happy with the Canadian National team's work throughout the day. "The team was awesome, and they really helped me in the end. In particular, David Boily was instrumental in getting me to the front in the last kilometre in a way that I could launch my sprint at the ideal moment. It looks good for the upcoming stages," he explained.

Tomorrow's stage will 148.4km over a 21.2km circuit over the spectacular countryside of La Baie, with the short steep hills sure to be a challenge for riders.

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