The opening stage of the Tour du Poitou Charentes, covering 193.3 km from Sauzé-entre-Bois to La Genétouze, was decided in a photo finish. The winner was Jason Tesson of TotalEnergies, who edged out Arnaud Démare of Arkéa–B&B Hotels on the line at the Haute Saintonge racetrack, denying the Frenchman the birthday victory he was hoping for on his 34th. For Tesson, a sprinter from the Loire region, this was his first win of the season and the 13th of his career — with the very first, back in 2021, also coming at the Poitou Charentes. As for the Italians, Andrea Peron finished 7th and Luca Colnaghi 8th. A crash involving other riders in the last kilometer prevented Giovanni Lonardi from contesting the sprint, so Manuel Peñalver stepped in and took 6th place.

On a course that was gently but relentlessly undulating both in elevation and layout — similar to what awaits tomorrow — the peloton executed textbook control over a four-man breakaway: Lewis Bauer (Groupama-FDJ), Wessel Mouris (Tietema Rockets), Niek Voogt (Parkhotel Valkenburg) and Mael Guegan (CIC U Nantes). After opening up nearly five minutes of advantage, they were finally reeled in with 12 km to go.

STAGE RESULT

1. Tesson Jason (Team TotalEnergies) in 04:24:13