Who would have bet on Romain Bardet? The Frenchman, at 33 years old, was only expected at the front of this Tour de France on the mountain stages, as an experienced mountain pass hunter. That was without counting on the crazy plan that germinated in his mind as the stage went on. The rider felt particularly good and watched around him many riders suffer in the crushing heat of this first stage between Florence and Rimini of this big start in Italy. A crazy plan, but carried out without a hitch.
His attack 50 km from the finish smacked of a sword in the water, and seemed so useless that no one rushed to his wheel. On the steep Italian roads, after an impressive effort, he found the wheel of his teammate Frank van den Broek, an early morning escape still fresh. They quickly eliminated the other leaders at the start of the stage, including the Frenchman Valentin Madouas, and launched into a duo time trial, determined to prove that cycling is a team sport, and to crown the career of the Frenchman in a yellow jersey, his last objective.
Running without ulterior motives
In the last few hundred metres, the two cyclists from the dsm-firmenich PostNL team felt the peloton’s breath come back to them, but the gruelling stage had tired the sprinting teams, who failed by a few cables. All that remained for the duo was to cross the line, raising their arms, visibly moved. To Bardet, the jersey and the bouquet of the first stage of this Tour de France 2024, to his teammate, the talented Dutchman Van den Broek, the prize for combativeness. 10 seconds behind them, the Belgian Wout van Aert settled the sprint of the peloton.
At the finish, Bardet recounted the suffering of the runners around him, in a first stage run at high speed and in strong heat, and “ l’instinct ” that he had to attack from afar. ” It’s crazy, how in cycling there are unexpected moments “, he congratulated himself, before exhaling: “ It was sublime “. For his last Tour de France, the rider finally freed himself from the pressure of the general classification, which had been crushing him since his second place in the 2016 edition. It’s the first time I smile before a Tour de France », he confided, and to share his happiness of “ run without ulterior motives » : « it is fabulous ».
Gaudu already let go
To inaugurate this 2024 Tour, ASO had designed a true classic route, starting from Florence, Italy, 200 km long and more than 3,000 meters of elevation gain. Destination: Rimini, legendary seaside town of Italian cycling, where Marco Pantani died in 2004 of a cocaine overdose.
The breakaway, which started in the first 20 kilometres of the stage, fought hard at the top of the climbs listed for points in the mountains classification and the first polka dot jersey. It was ultimately Jonas Abrahamsen, a Norwegian rider from the Uno-X Mobility team, who won the jersey, but neither he nor his breakaway companions were able to hold the wheels of the two DSMs.
Made difficult by the heat and the pace imposed at the head of the peloton – the breakaway never had more than a 5-minute lead – the stage caused damage to the peloton. David Gaudu, who came for Groupama FDJ with a dual objective of stage victory and general classification, could not resist the first accelerations, while he arrives on this Tour weakened by Covid. His loss on the line, of 29 minutes, certainly illustrates his poor performance, but also the difficulty of this first stage which will leave its mark.
A formidable wall for the second stage
The second stage of the Tour de France, Sunday between Cesenatico and Bologna (199 km), offers the first big wall of this 111th edition with the formidable San Luca hill that the peloton will climb twice in an explosive finale.
Two kilometres at an average gradient of 10.6%, with sections of almost 20%: the famous climb along monumental arcades leading to the Basilica of San Luca promises to be one of the highlights of the first week of the Tour. The opportunity for a first battle between the leaders of the general classification?
Profile of the second stage of the Tour de France 2024 / Visactu / Visactu
► The general classification on the evening of the first stage
1. Romain Bardet (FRA/DSM) 5 h 07:12.
2. Frank van den Broek (NED/DSM) at 4 seconds.
3. Wout van Aert (BEL/TJV) 11.
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAD) 15.
5. Maxim Van Gils (BEL/LTD) 15.
6. Alex Aranburu (ESP/MOV) 15.
7. Mads Pedersen (DEN/LTK) 15.
8. Remco Evenepoel (BEL/SOQ) 15.
9. Pello Bilbao (ESP/TBV) 15.
10. Alberto Bettiol (ITA/EFE) 15.
