The best climber of the last Tour of Italy first showed his qualities in the high percentages during the two main climbs of the day, the Passo Brocon (15 km at 4.9%) then the Passo Gobbera (4.2 km at 5.6%).
In two accelerations, he dropped one by one the other breakaways who had left with him from km 30, including the German Ben Zwiehoff (Bora), the most pressing, to switch alone in the lead towards the flatter circuit concluding at Primiero / San Martino di Castrozza (Italy) this initial stage of 160.9 km.
The roughly two-minute margin 13 kilometers from the line almost wasn't enough, as his lead then melted away.
But the AG2R rider, hard legs and bobbing head, was able to preserve five seconds on the line on the group led by Pello Bilbao (Bahrain), second, and Romain Bardet (DMS), third.
With this first success among the professionals, after having been best climber in the Tour of Spain in 2019 then in the Tour of Italy in 2021, Bouchard puts on the first leader's jersey for this disputed five-stage race (ex-Tour du Trentin). until Friday on both sides of the border between Italy and Austria.
"The plan was to put in front of one of our riders, we have three riders who can claim the general (Gall, Champoussin, Prodhomme, editor's note). But I found myself in front, a bit by chance. And I tried to do my best," commented Bouchard at a press conference.
"I was flat out from start to finish, I never thought I could win. I'm very happy to open my professional record," he added, feeling that he "consoled himself in this way. " of the victory missed by nothing last year at Campo Felice in a stage of the "Giro".
The French will have to quickly recover from the enormous efforts made: the 2nd stage of 154 kilometers, Tuesday, will begin with the ascent of Passo Rolle, the summit of this 45th edition with its 1,984 meters.
© 2022 AFP