The first stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk 2024 ended with a breathtaking victory for Milan Fretin. The young sprinter managed to catch and pass Paul Hennequin (Nice Metropole) right on the finish line in Le Touquet, after the latter had tried the finisseur’s shot in the last kilometer of a stage marked by rain and bad weather. Third place went to experienced Irish sprinter Sam Bennett (Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale). The 23-year-old Belgian of Cofidis now leads the provisional general classification four seconds ahead of Hennequin and six ahead of Bennett.

Stage Highlights

The roads of northern France immediately offer great battle, with the breakaway struggling to form in the rain. To succeed after 40 kilometers of fighting are Antoine Hue (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) and Maxime Jarnet (Van Rysel – Roubaix), who are later joined by Joris Delbove (St.Michel Auber 93), Dean Harvey (Trinity Racing) and Gwen Leclainche (Philippe Wagner/Bazin). Their gap quickly reaches four minutes, but the peloton at that point, thanks to the work of Decathlon – Ag2r La Mondiale, Soudal Quick-Step and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, begins to manage the situation.

At the halfway point of the race, the gap thus drops to three minutes, and progressively the peloton moves closer to two minutes when there are 70 kilometers to go. The outriders begin attacking each other on the climbs of Esgrange and Bezinghem while the men of Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale and Soudal Quick-Step continue to pull behind.

When Area-B&B Hotels then pulls hard, the escapees’ lead collapses dramatically and at -50 km they arrive at less than 20 seconds. The fate of the day’s breakaway now seemed sealed, but once Delbove was caught, the peloton slowed down and the lead of the four outriders grew back to 40 seconds when there were 38 kilometers to go. Three kilometers later Frenchman Hue loses contact from the race lead, which now consists of three escapees with a 25-second advantage over the group pulled by dsm-firmenich. Shortly afterwards, the Irishman Harvey also loses contact with the outriders, who remain in two, Jarnet and Leclainche, who at -25 still have 22 seconds on the group.

The peloton pulls with conviction again and also recovers the last two survivors of the day’s breakaway when there are only 16 kilometers to the finish line. Up front the sprinters’ team trains are already lined up and they keep a very strong pace to ward off further attacks in the final kilometers. At the -6 mark, five Decathlon men and also the Q36.5 Pro Cycling train, which is jostling with the dsm-firmenich riders, take the lead. Everyone is trying to take the best positions ahead of the very delicate final sprint on a wet road.

In the last kilometer, Paul Hennequin (Nice Metropole) tries to attack and get ahead of the sprinters, but is overtaken right at the finish line by Milan Fretin (Cofidis) who wins the chaotic sprint of the first stage. The brave Hennequin must then settle for second place.