Starting on the Boulevard Jean Jaurés in Nice, the highly-anticipated French one-day race took on two laps, totalling 96km, and saw the riders climb the Côte de Rimiez on both laps, with the race finishing on the Promenade des Anglais. Due to the blistering speed right from the get-go, several riders in the peloton were already dropped on the first ascent. Équipe Paule Ka remained at the front, helping set the tempo, with the field splitting into several smaller groups. On the descent, several riders were able to go clear but were chased by a group containing Mikayla Harvey, Lizzy Banks, Niamh Fisher-Black and Leah Thomas, who rode strongly to try and catch up to the leaders.