First leader of the general classification, the winner, who had not yet won a race this season, was not the fastest but he managed to avoid a big fall in the last meters.
Neck and neck with the Belgian Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal) and the Briton Daniel McLay (Arkéa Samsic) in the last meters and on the verge of being overtaken, Welsford made a slight gap which sent his two rivals to the ground at almost 70 km/h.
De Lie, big favorite on the flat stages and candidate for the final victory, still finished in 6th place, on the back, but suffered a violent shock.
Before this chaotic final, the day had been animated by several breakaways.
The last, made up of Belgians Gijs van Hoecke (AG2R Citroën), Lionel Taminiaux (Alpecin-Fenix) and Alex Colman (Sport Vlaanderen), was caught by the peloton 3 km from the line.
On Wednesday, the second stage, also without major relief, will connect Béthune (Pas-de-Calais to Maubeuge (North) over 181.5 km.
© 2022 AFP