I could be wrong Don, but I believe the Tour du Haut Var is the opening round of the French Cup series.
I noticed Planckaert's result as well and I couldn't agree with you more: he has to be the leader at Milan-San Remo. His past results speak for themselves (8th, 1999; 6th, 2000; 4th, 2002) and his defensive role in the final kilometre of the 1999 edition sealed Tchmil's victory.
He should be leading this team right through the Spring calendar.