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.

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.