Stage 1: a rather spectacular circuit in Laon. I didn't know the place (only the name). Gautherat (🇫🇷 Decathlon) managed to crash into a wall again.

Stage 2: there are days like this... The stage was 100% a sprinter stage, yet the peloton misjudged the breakaway of 5 then 4 Conti riders: 2 Roubaix, 1 CIC, and 2 then 1 Nice, despite Guégan (CIC) refusal to relay in the last miles. And it is Nice who get its 1^st^ professional victory thanks to Victor Papon🇫🇷!

Stage 3 and 4: cobbles... Pithie (🇳🇿 Bora) is very, very strong. On stage 3, one could say that he was helped by other teams/riders, but on stage 4, he had to everything by himself (and against everyone): pulling, chasing, puling, chasing, attacking, and again. His team (Bora) is nowhere to be seen, very weak.

Stage 5: the mass sprint couldn't be avoided this time (neither could the crash...) Pithie (🇳🇿 Bora) almost lost the race because of a puncture just before the sprint zone, but made it back into the peloton.

Overall, the race was significantly better than what I forecasted in my negative presentation. 👍