The UCI points battle was far from the main storyline of the opening weekend as the focus was on the teams in Quick Step Alphavinir's two-day grind arc and Jumbo Visma's improved classics, but the battle for the 2023 World Tour licenses represented a season-long battle between teams, with more than 18 teams, including Total Energy and Arkea-Samsic, hoping to step up, and the fight for the all-important "sporting standard" UCI points has been raging since day one of the season.

Lower WorldTour teams such as Lotto Soudal, Intermarque Wantigovert, and Cofidis have fought back and won for 2022, while French pro team Arkea Samsic has also won five races (four by Nairo Quintana), with 15 podium finishes and points He has contributed to the team's success. [The Frenchman finished third behind Fabio Jacobsen and Caleb Yuan, earning 125 valuable UCI points in the process.

Teammates Dan McClay and Amaury Capio finished fourth and seventh, respectively, to show team strength, adding 285 points to their 1,429 points that put them in first place in the UCI standings as of February 22.

"We shouldn't talk about points all year," Hofstetter said Sunday afternoon, shortly after the awards ceremony. 'But we recognize that the first 18 teams will be on the World Tour. We are here to win races and if we win, the points come automatically. [Last Tuesday we tied on points with UAE Team Emirates. Last Tuesday we tied on points with UAE Team Emirates.

The trio of Arkea Samsic, led by Hofstetter, could be seen snaking around the outside and up against the barrier with a few meters to go in the Cune Brussel Cune.

According to Hofstetter, the team leadout was planned so that McRae would be the last one out, but after finding himself behind Ewan with a few meters to go, he gave it his all in the sprint and his teammates sprinted with him for fourth place in the end.

"It wasn't easy with the headwind and there was a breakaway group in front of us, so it was complicated to manage," Hofstetter said.

"In the sprint, Dan should have won. Amaury was doing a great job for this, he got the wind and I took his wheel, but then he went left and I went right. At that moment, McRae went into my wheel and I went into Ewan's wheel.

"The sprint was really fast and at that moment I was able to stay in Ewan's circle. From the beginning of the season I knew they were the best sprinters in the world, so it was really hard to beat them.

For Hofstetter, the result gave him confidence for the rest of the spring campaign.

He began his Arkea Samsic career with a fourth-place finish on the final day of Challenge Mallorca, and finished second in the uphill sprint that kicked off the Etoile de Besseges. Now he heads to Le Samyn, the race he won two years ago and one of the two races he has won as a professional in his career.

"It gave me a lot of confidence," he said.

"Sure, it would be better if I could beat them, but I'm happy with this placing. Sometimes you really want to win, but sometimes you end up with a bad result. That's what's important."