Tour de l‘Ain 2023 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

July 31, 2023

Tour de l‘Ain 2023 🇫🇷 – Stage 1 – Loyettes – La Plaine Tonique : 154 km

For young, up-and-coming French riders the Tour de l’Ain is one of the most important races on the pro cycling calendar and a big chance to attract the interest of WorldTour talent scouts. The multi-day race was first held back in 1970 under an old and now defunct name, the Prix de l’Amitié. In 1989 a committee of new organisers came in and changed the name to the more familiar Tour de l’Ain. They also took the race to a new region, swapping southeast France and the French Alps for the Jura Mountains and the Ain department in east-central France. Since the establishment of the UCI ProTour back in 2005, the Tour de l’Ain has been ranked as a 2.1 event, making it one of the biggest French stage races. Up until 2018, the race regularly ran for five stages, with a short opening prologue followed by four punchy road stages. Now there are just three stages for the riders to compete over, two of which are often held in the heart of the Jura Mountains.

Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) claimed victory on stage 1 of the Tour de l’Ain after beating Emmanuel Morin (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) and Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) in a bunch sprint at La Plaine Tonique. The win was the second of the Briton’s career, with the first coming on the corresponding stage of this race a year ago.

“I think it’s clear I like this race. It’s second year I’m here and my second win,” Stewart said. “This stage suited me better last year, it was harder in the finish, whereas this year it was pan flat and it was always going to be a chaotic sprint. Fabian [Lienhard] did a perfect lead-out, he opened up with 500m to go. I just went at 250 to go and I went hard until the line.”

The race was animated by early attackers Aloïs Charrin (Tudor Pro Cycling), Julian Lino (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur) and Mads Østergaard Kristensen (Leopard), who gained a lead of more than two minutes on the peloton.

Charrin and Lino were later tangled up in a crash, however, leaving Kristensen to press on alone at the head of the race until he was swept up with 24km to go.

From there, a bunch sprint was inevitable, with Groupama-FDJ and Arkéa-Samsic active in teeing up the mass finish. Stewart won the day, though he knows teammate Rudy Molard and Michael Storer will be to the fore when the road climbs on Tuesday.

“We’ve come here with a really good team, with GC ambitions with Rudy and Michael,” Stewart said. “I’ll be at their service tomorrow and Wednesday.”

Results :