A day of attacking racing from Ben Swift saw him end stage one of the Four Days of Dunkirk second overall as Axel Zingle (Visma-Lease a Bike) won to take the race lead.
Swift was part of a six-rider break which led for the majority of the stage, with the Yorkshireman earning eight bonus seconds in intermediate sprints along the way.
Despite the break working well together, the peloton increased the pace in the final 20 kilometres and caught the escapees with just six kilometres remaining.
This led to a sprint finish which saw Sam Watson finish 15th, while Zingle took the victory to lead Swift by two seconds overall heading into stage two.
Four Days of Dunkirk
Stage 1-
1Axel Zingle Team Visma | Lease a Bike03:51:10
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2Tobias Lund Andresen Team Picnic PostNL+ 00
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3Stian Fredheim Uno-X Mobility+ 00
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15Sam Watson INEOS Grenadiers+ 00
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36Ben Swift INEOS Grenadiers+ 00
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46Victor Langellotti INEOS Grenadiers+ 00
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78Connor Swift INEOS Grenadiers+ 00
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99Bob Jungels INEOS Grenadiers+ 44
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115Omar Fraile INEOS Grenadiers+ 02:47
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117Óscar Rodríguez INEOS Grenadiers+ 02:47
Four Days of Dunkirk
Overall Rankings (Stage 1)-
1Axel Zingle Team Visma | Lease a Bike03:51:00
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2Ben Swift INEOS Grenadiers+ 02
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3Per Strand Hagenes Team Visma | Lease a Bike+ 03
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18Sam Watson INEOS Grenadiers+ 10
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48Victor Langellotti INEOS Grenadiers+ 10
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77Connor Swift INEOS Grenadiers+ 10
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103Bob Jungels INEOS Grenadiers+ 54
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117Omar Fraile INEOS Grenadiers+ 02:57
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119Óscar Rodríguez INEOS Grenadiers+ 02:57