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Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) claimed a narrow victory in the 4.1 kilometre prologue of the Boucles de la Mayenne in Laval, France.
The Portuguese rider blasted to the victory on the technical circuit and took the first race leader’s jersey by two seconds over Axel Zingle (Cofidis) with Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) third by one second further behind.
Oliveira will carry the leader’s jersey into a tough stage 2 of the four-day event when the peloton faces a lumpy 185.2 kilometre stage from Saint-Mars-sur-Colmont to Lassay-les-Châteaux.
Defending champion Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) did not return to reclaim the title of the race which has alternately been won by sprinters and classics specialists.
In 2021, Arnaud Démare won three of the four stages, the overall and sprint classifications.
The Frenchman is in the hunt again this year, placing sixth in the prologue. Cosnefroy, last year’s runner-up, is likely the biggest threat to a repeat of 2021.
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