FDJ's Arnaud Demare has won stage one of the Paris-Nice race.
Michael Matthews was in the lead for a 195km stage from Condé-sur-Vesgre to Vendôme and from the start, Thomas De Gendt, Quémeneur, Tronet and Hupond.were on the attack.
They were quickly a minute clear and were able to extend that to nine minutes with eighty kilometres gone in pouring rain.
De Gendt beat Tronet to the points at the first intermediate sprint of the race as the gap started to drop to around the 6.30 mark.
Going into the final fifty kilometres of the stage and the quartet's lead had fallen again to 3.30 with the peloton split and a front group including Geraint Thomas, Allberto Contador and the race leader as the sun came out and the wind got up.
With thirty kilometres left, their lead was at just thirty eight seconds as the front group who were over a minute ahead of the second group which contained Philippe Gilbert and Luis Leon Sanchez, a minute behind.
The break was caught with 19.1kms to go and four kilometres later, it was Pierre Luc Perichon who was ahead with a twenty second lead.
Perichon took the second sprint ahead of Michael Matthews and Geraint Thomas who beat Alberto Contador.
Sylvain Chavanel of Direct Energie, who had done a lot of work in the front group punctured as the group came back together and Eduard Theuns went under the flam rouge first.
Cofidis led the sprint but Theuns who rode for Topsport last season, attacked.
He was caught with about a hundred metres to go, Ben Swift of Team Sky went for it, so did Nacer Bouhanni but it was Arnaud Demare of FDJ who won in 4.29.53 ahead of Swift and Bouhanni.
"It was not easy in the slightest," said Demare.
"The winds played havoc but I am very happy with the victory and the team did a great job to give me a big smile on my face."
Michael Mattews of Orica GreenEdge continues to lead the race with a lead of three seconds from Tom Dumoulin.