From the presentation of the teams the day before the start of the first stage at Creil, the Cofidis team showed strong unity and real ambition, [01] under the benevolent eye of Jean-Marie Leblanc, managing at his last Tour de Picardie. [02] The early kilometres showed off the wonderful countryside of the Picardie Region [03] but thirteen men managed to free themselves from the pack.

By the end of the breakaway, Rony Martias was the unexpected leader at the finish on top of the Péronne climb and took the precious yellow jersey. [04] The following day between Nesle and Marle, Belgian rider Gert Steegmans caught the leader in the final 10 kilometres, killing two birds with one stone: a stage win and the yellow jersey. [05] The third stage proved decisive: a group of sixteen breakaway riders, including picard Jimmy Casper, [06] held off the peloton.

At Nogent-sur-Oise, Casper won the sprint [07] with Cédric Hervé taking the yellow jersey. On the podium, breton Bernard Hinault shared the joy of the young rider from the Brittany-based Jean Floc'h team. [08] Tension was high on the start-line for the fourth and last stage between Villers-Saint-Paul and Creil, as the positions were so close. A duel unfolded between Hervé and Casper, separated by just one second overall. [09]

On the first race to the line, the sprint bonus was taken by Engoulvent, ahead of Casper, who still collected two bonus seconds and took over as provisional race leader. One lap later the finish line saw the unusual sight of two men raising their arms in delight: Sébastien Hinault, stage victor, [10] and Jimmy Casper, overall winner of the event. [11] A joy that was shared by the Picard crowd and the young heir to the sprinters' crown. Casper: like father like son? [12]