Cycling Results · Stage Analysis · Édition 2026
Stage 1: Opening Flat Stage
Région Pays de La Loire Tour 2026
Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) won the bunch sprint on the flat opener into Vertou, beating Erlend Blikra and Noah Hobbs to take the first leader's jersey.
A textbook sprinters' opener, and Ethan Vernon is first across the line in Vertou.
The 72nd Région Pays de la Loire Tour opened with a 187.5 km flat run from Fontevraud-l'Abbaye to Vertou, exactly the kind of exposed, rolling-to-flat day the race is built around. The day's break was reeled in and the sprint teams took control on the run to the line, setting up a full bunch finish.
In the gallop Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) had the legs, holding off Uno-X Mobility's Erlend Blikra and EF Education-EasyPost's Noah Hobbs. Paul Penhoët and Joes Oosterlinck rounded out the top five. With the whole field on the same time, only the time bonuses created any GC separation.
The win gave Vernon the first leader's jersey of the race and signalled NSN's intent in the sprints, a marker they would build on the following day.
Vernon leads on bonuses; the GC is otherwise untouched.
Ethan Vernon takes the first leader's jersey courtesy of his stage-win time bonus, with Blikra and the other top finishers close behind on bonus seconds. The bunch finish meant no real time gaps among the GC contenders, leaving the overall to be decided on the harder days to come.
Région Pays de La Loire Tour — every stage we've published
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S1Stage 1: Opening Flat StageYOU ARE HERE
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S2Stage 2: Individual Time Trial
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S3Stage 3: Final Road Stage
Where this stage analysis comes from
- 🇬🇧 ProCyclingStats — Région Pays de la Loire Tour 2026 Stage 1 result