Corsica International opens with a flat stage that starts and ends in Porto Vecchio. Admittedly, it is not entirely flat, and that has perhaps put off some sprinters. The fastest here are the likes of Kupfernagel, Corioni, Lay and Ulanowski. Although the latter may struggle with the bumps. Look out too for French duo Drujon and Sonnery who will look to shine on French soil, and can comfortably handle the climbs.
There was much interest in the break, but the peloton only wanted to let 4 go away. This was bad news for Sørensen, Mojica, Slagter and Galviz who had tried to get away but failed.
It was good news though for Zmorka, De la Cruz, Redondo and Lloyd who made the cut and went clear.
The King of the Mountains prime today will be a nice source of ranking points as whoever wins it gets the jersey for both Stage 1 and Stage 2. Zmorka struggled in the battle for points, but the other 3 all went to for it, and it was Aussie Matt Lloyd who crossed first to secure some handy points for Boeing.
The peloton are content to give the break some space for now, with the GC teams in control. That is Newton on the front for CSC-Orbea at this stage.
The intermediate sprint saw the same order as the KoM: Lloyd -> Redondo -> De la Cruz. It does put De la Cruz in the mix for the U25 jersey though, depending on him holding onto the peloton, and which sprinters get time bonuses.
And it will be the sprinters getting time bonuses, as the break are caught some distance away from the finish. The pace is kept high, even without something to chase, with Russom and Cabreira almost create a gap in their eagerness.
Another national champion Antunes is involved in the fast tempo with 5km to go, alongside Anuar Aziz and Meintjes.
Karcher, Venchi and Project Africa doing the work, and sure enough, it is these teams who are creating sprint trains too. Karcher are doing the best early on with Sousa, Silvestre and Kupfernagel - with Ferrari following.
Ascani, Corti and Corioni come next with the French pair Sonnery and Drujon following.
Finally the African team have Niyonshuti, Lay and Abdallah. Which is a bit of a surprising order really. Lay may have proven to be a gread leadout man already this season for Maksimov, but he is a faster sprinter than the Egyptian champion - yet is leading him out?
Yates and Barbin follow Abdallah, with Mora and Ahlstrand also trying to get involved. Lasca too, a little further back.
Karcher throw away their early advantage by having Sousa lead the way too long, Corti has already moved into the lead. There's a bit of clashing behind as Lay's attempt to leadout Abdallah merges into the train behind Corioni, while Niyonshuti manages to block Yates while dropping back.
Lay spots a gap on the inside and goes for it, but again Venchi block him - this time it is Corioni as he launches his sprint. Sonnery is looking dangerous here.
Abdallah is completely out of it as Drujon now starts to come through after fellow Frenchman Sonnery struggles to make an impact. And finally Kupfernagel is ready to launch his sprint.
Corioni has fought off the Lay threat but Kupfernagel is now closing fast.
Not fast enough though, as Claudio Corioni takes the win! Venchi's winning streak is not going to be ended just yet.
Lay takes an impressive 3rd despite intending to be the leadout man, while Silvestre also hung on for a 4th place ahead of Drujon and Sonnery.
Ferrari, Corti, Abdallah and Lasca complete the Top 10 - while Marquez is the best GC rider in 11th, bagging himself a late start time for the Stage 2 TT. There was no sign of Ulanowski all sprint - he finished 31st.
Silvestre was the best placed young rider in the sprint, but no bonus seconds gained, so the U25 jersey does go to De la Cruz from the breakaway.
