Romain Bardet first yellow jersey after his stage victory between Florence and Rimini

CYCLING – A start to the Grande Boucle under the Italian sun, but already to the sound of The Marseillaise. Leaving Florence this Saturday, June 29, the Tour de France 2024 peloton faced a hot and demanding first day for the 176 participants in this 111th edition.

A first stage between Florence and Rimini which ended with a first nice surprise: a French victory thanks to the sacred number of Romain Bardet at the end of the 206 kilometers of this inaugural day on Italian soil.

At the end of this first stage, it is the experienced 33-year-old French runner who takes the yellow leader’s jersey for his last lap on the Grande Boucle. He will start the second stage on Sunday with the yellow tunic on his shoulders, a great first in his career.

For his part, the Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro team) showed himself to be on the heights of the day. Enough to allow him to wear the famous polka-dot jersey of best climber. On the other hand, no good or bad surprises for the leaders and favorites of the Tour, whether it be Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel or Jonas Vingegaard (winner in 2022 and 2023), all present without incident at the finish of this first stage.

First difficult day

After a sunny start to the day which allowed the peloton to cross the famous Tuscan city for the first time in its history, the first difficulties of the day quickly presented themselves. With no less than seven climbs listed in blazing heat.

But the first real scare of the day came before the actual start of the race, when Czech Jan Hirt of Soudal Quick-Step broke several teeth after an unfortunate accident with a spectator’s backpack. Enough to provide an impressive first image.

Also struggling, British sprinter Mark Cavendish has shown early signs of weakness. However, the Astana team rider will have a lot to do this year if he wants to win a stage in this edition. This would give him the record for stage wins in the Tour de France. A record he currently shares with a certain Eddy Merckx (34 victories each).

Perfect Bardet

From the first real kilometers, a breakaway comprising about ten riders had managed to widen the gap with the peloton. A group at the head of the race which included four French riders, including Valentin Madouas. But at the top of the passes, it was the Spaniard Ion Izagirre and the Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen who shared most of the points for the polka dot jersey.

Unsurprisingly, the peloton finally accelerated its pace to try to avoid a victory for the leading men in Rimini. The Frenchman Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) nevertheless managed to come out on top. Author of a nice number in the last 50 kilometers, he finally caught up with the four men still in the lead. Joining Valentin Madouas, Jonas Abrahamsen and his DSM teammate, Frank Van Den Broek.

The Frenchman’s teammate was hard-hitting and managed to impose a sufficient pace to keep the peloton at a distance. Enough also to crack the leading group, leaving the DSM duo in the lead with around forty kilometers to go with the hope of a French yellow jersey from the first stage of the 2024 Tour.

In a tug-of-war with the peloton until the last few metres, the two riders from the Dutch team didn’t give up, allowing Romain Bardet to claim his fourth stage victory, helped until the end by Frank Van Den Broek. Romain Bardet also made a point of saluting him as he crossed the finish line for his many efforts since the first kilometres.

« I really find it hard to believe it, I don’t think it was at all premeditated (…) We did an incredible raid with Frank, I owe him a lot, this jersey is really shared », reacted quickly to the French runner who is beginning the end of his career in the most beautiful way.

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