Geoffrey Bouchard took his first professional victory in the Tour de l'Alps on Monday, winning the first stage after almost accidentally joining a breakaway group and holding off the rest of the pack with a daring solo ride.

The Frenchman, who has won the mountains jersey in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España with three weeks of consistent riding, finally experienced the unique emotion of victory at the foot of the Dolomites in the Primiero/San Martino di Castrozza on the first stage

Bouchard became a professional rider for AG2R Citroën in 2018, but had to fight for his first win, just as he had to fight hard to gain a position in the peloton.

"Last year I missed out on a stage win in the Giro. I got caught in the last few hundred meters," he recalled of the stage 9 dirt road finish to Campo Felice, where Egan Bernal passed him for the win.

"I was able to become a professional because I worked hard, not because I was super talented. I did some good things, like winning the mountain jersey, but I didn't win enough. The goal in cycling is always to win. Now, luckily, I was able to win too.

"I may not always be confident in my abilities, but I have always worked hard, and when I was under 23 I was never on a national team. I still studied at university and worked part-time in the decathlon. Then one year I asked my parents if I could quit my job to give my all to cycling. 2018 was a good year and I got a contract with AG2R.

"They say a rider's best season is between 28 and 32. I turned pro late, but I have progressed every year. I had to learn a lot, but now I know who I am and what I want in life. That finally came true today."

Bouchard revealed that he was actually one of the GC riders named by AG2R Citroen for the Tour de l'Alps. He was not scheduled to ride the breakaway.

"I was following one move and all of a sudden six riders got away and let us go," he explained, as if fate had intervened and decided his day.

"We got a lot of luck and a lot of time in the headwind in the valley. From that moment on I started thinking about winning the stage and concentrated on doing my best."

Bouchard was joined by Ben Zwiehoff (Bora-Hansgrohe), Vinicius Langercosta (Movistar), Mattia Beis (Drone Hopper Androni), Asier Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Emanuel Zangel ( Tyrol KTM) and escaped, building up a lead of up to seven minutes over the peloton.

He attacked with Zwiehoff on the Passo Gobbera climb late in the race, defeating the former German MTB racer who crashed on the descent.

Bouchard was two minutes ahead of the Ineos-led peloton and began a solo battle for his first win.

Bouchard crossed the finish area with 15km of valley loop left and looked to be in the clear. However, his lead was slipping away in the strong winds as Bahrain Victorious also made a big turn in front of him to set up Pero Bilbao.

Still, Bouchard did not stop believing.

"I gave it my all today. But I never really thought about winning until the last 200m," he said.

Bouchard fell in love with racing in Italy during the battle for the blue mountains jersey at last year's Giro d'Italia. He was happy that his first victory came on Italian soil, but he made it clear that he would not be returning to Corsa Rosa this year, but would be aiming to join the AG2R Citroën team in the Tour de France.

"I love it when the Italian tifosi come to watch the race, not just to see the promotional caravan," he said, making fun of the millions of French spectators who line the Tour de France route, and also revealed his desire to ride the Grand Boucle.

"I love the Giro, including the bad moments in the rain. But I'm French and all French professional riders want to ride the Tour de France.

"If I didn't want to ride the Tour, I don't know why I would go to training every day. I've been to the Giro twice, the Vuelta twice, and now this year. I think now is the time to go to the Tour. I want to be part of the AG2R Citroën team that supports Ben O'Connor as much as possible."