That was an intensely dramatic day, for both the wrong reasons and the right reasons. The first crash, caused by a spectator with about 45km to go, was bad enough - although mercifully it occurred with the riders travelling at relatively low speed. The second crash, on a descent into Landerneau with 8km to go, was absolutely flat-out and terrifying: it looked like fans at the roadside were caught up in it, through no fault of their own, and Chris Froome was one of the many riders who crashed heavily. Froome limped over the finish line after receiving medical attention.
After all that, Deceuninck–Quick-Step and Julian Alaphilippe pulled off a sensational stage win: the Wolf Pack triumphing on the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups, AKA the Wolf Pit. How appropriate. Alaphilippe has to give up his world champion’s jersey - but only for as long as he keeps the yellow one. So life could be worse for the Frenchman, the first home rider to win the Tour’s first stage in 20 years. Allez!
“It was really nasty today,” the champion Pogacar tells ITV at the finish line, sensibly adding that some of his rivals losing time due to the crashes is ‘nothing to celebrate’.
Thanks for reading today - how long can Alaphilippe stay in yellow? Jeremy Whittle’s Stage 1 report will be coming up soon.
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Geraint Thomas, impressively, took five seconds on his Ineos teammate Richard Carapaz on the final climb. Richie Porte lost over two minutes. Miguel Angel Lopez is 1’49” down on Alaphilippe in yellow after the first stage ... Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) is over three minutes down, which is a disastrous start. Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation is more than five minutes down (he may well have waited with Froome, however).
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So far, the only confirmed abandon is Jasha Sütterlin following those two massive crashes. There may be more - things will become clearer throughout the afternoon and evening.
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Footage of the finish. It was a truly dominant and hugely impressive win by Alaphilippe. Speculation will mount that the world champion can win the GC, but I don’t personally see that as a possibility. He will always have a bad day, or two, or three, in the high mountain stages and will of course leak time in the time trials too.
What finish! Relive the final KM as 🇫🇷 @alafpolak1 attacked to grab the win on the 1st stage and take Yellow!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 26, 2021
Quel final ! Revivez le dernier KM ! 🇫🇷 @alafpolak1 attaque, remporte la 1ère étape et prend le @MaillotjauneLCL !#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/aZVtn3B3gT
“There’s no legislating for idiocy,” observes Gary Imlach on ITV4 of the crash that was caused by a spectator. “Opi and Omi” suggests the fan was saying hello to her German grandparents ... “A moment they will cherish,” as Chris Boardman wrily observes.
Our on-the-whistle report from a dramatic stage 1 is here:
Chris Froome is pictured rolling into the finish, with some teammates, after being caught up in the second big crash of the day.
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Haig, Kelderman, Pogacar, Gaudu, Higuita, Mollema and Geraint Thomas round out the top 10:
#TDF2021 - Stage 1 - Top 10 pic.twitter.com/536OWr1Q9t
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) June 26, 2021
A great result for Geraint Thomas in terms of the leadership debate (if there was one) at Team Ineos.
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Emotional scenes for Deceuninck–Quick-Step at the finish:
💙#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/Us9A6T927E
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) June 26, 2021
Alaphilippe talks: “It wasn’t easy, I wanted to get rid of the sprinters, I wanted a gap ... I’m so happy ... it’s a really special victory.”
Tour de France Stage 1: Top 3
1) Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck–Quick-Step)
2) Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange)
3) Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).
That was another exhibition of teamwork from Deceuninck–Quick-Step. They rode on the front all day to control the gap, then they positioned Alaphilippe perfectly going into the final climb, and the world champion finished it off. Froome has apparently not abandoned after that huge crash in the closing kilometres.
Julian Alaphilippe wins Tour de France Stage 1!
The world champion will wear the yellow jersey tomorrow! A phenomenal ride from the Deceuninck–Quick-Step man. He has time to sit up, on the final flat section, and celebrate his win. For his rivals, knowing what he was going to do was one thing - stopping him doing it was quite another. He attacked with more than 2km to go - an incredible performance - he was also brought down in that first big crash of the day, which makes it all the more remarkable.
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1km to go: Julien Simon is trying to bridge but Alaphilippe is looking good ...
1.5km to go: Van der Poel is powering up away from Roglic and Pogacar and trying to catch the world champion. Alaphilippe is giving it everything and looks to have created a decisive gap of 10 seconds ...
2km to go: Pogacar is lurking about 10th wheel. Alaphilippe attacks! He creates a huge gap! Roglic tries to shut it down ... It’s all uphill from here. Pogacar and Roglic are third and fourth. Alaphilippe leads ...
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3km to go: They hit the final climb! Deceuninck–Quick-Step are working on the front. The first part of the climb is the hardest, steepest bit. Van der Poel is fighting back into contention. Van Aert is right there. Colbrelli too. All to play for.
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5km to go: Looks like Froome’s race may be over. He is being examined by a doctor. The race goes on at the front. Pogacar is right up at the front.
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6km to go: There are loads and loads of riders on the floor. Froome is down. André Greipel is another. Too many to mention. Thankfully a lot of them ended up on a grass verge on the right-hand side of the road.
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Another huge crash!
8km to go: All hands on deck at the front. Lots of teams fighting for position. Let’s hope they ... I was just about to write that I was hoping they would get to the finish safely, and there has been another absolutely enormous crash on a descent. Awful. Dozens of riders are on the floor after a crash with the peloton moving at top pace.
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10km to go: It’s up-and-down all the way to the finish. Ineos Grenadiers are now massed at the front. Declercq drops back - his work is done for the day. Will it pay off with a win for Julian Alaphilippe?
11km to go: “Living in France, I’ve been to see the Tour a few times,” writes Richard Hirst. “Not only do they come at you faster than you think, but the kinetic energy you experience as they pass a yard or so away from you is unbelievable. Anyone not looking at the riders is risking their own safety, not only that of the cyclists.”
Tim Declercq, who has put in a mammoth ride for Deceuninck–Quick-Step, gives it one final push on the front of the bunch.
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13km to go: Deceuninck–Quick-Step, Movistar Team and Alpecin-Fenix are among the teams grouped at the front of the race. There’s a shot of Mikkel Bjerg, of UAE-Team Emirates, riding with badly ripped shorts following that earlier crash.
15km to go: Game-faces now on at the front. The roads are narrow and winding and undulating as the riders speed towards Landerneau. There are regular pieces of road furniture, and the odd race marshall standing on the central reservation and waving a flag by way of warning.
18km to go: Here’s a still of that massive pile-up via Nick Bull on Twitter:
Scariest thing about that crash was that by the time Tony Martin stopped sliding along the road, the spectator who got the in the way was comfortably out of the helicopter shot. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/JIudtdwnRS
— Nick Bull (@nickbull21) June 26, 2021
Things have been a little calmer in the bunch in the past few kilometres. There is a bit of sun breaking through the clouds - rain was forecast, but has not materialised so far, aside from a few spots an hour or two ago.
20km to go: A photo of fans getting close to the riders earlier in the stage - but crucially, they are looking at the approaching peloton rather than trying to get on the telly. They come at you a lot faster than you think when you’re standing at the roadside ...
It remains to be seen if any of the pre-stage contenders for the win are nursing injuries following the crash.
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22km to go: Some riders are still trying to get back on to the bunch after the crash. The riders at the front waited, but they weren’t going to wait all day ... Dylan Teuns and Caleb Ewan are among the riders to have just got back in touch. Michael Matthews had a puncture, but he’s back in the bunch too.
27km to go: Teams are now appealing to fans on Twitter to stay out of the way while the race is speeding by:
🇫🇷 #TDF2021
— Team Qhubeka NextHash (@QhubekaAssos) June 26, 2021
Our beautiful sport is completely unique and extra special in how accessible we are to the fans.
If we could please remind all spectators along the roads to stand back, at a safe distance, as the race passes by.
🙏@LeTour #BicyclesChangeLives
Schelling is caught, and the race is all back together. It’s a shame that his incredible solo ride was marred by that massive crash behind. It would have been fascinating to see how it played out without that crash. I wonder if he had instructions from his team, on the radio, to sit up after the accident? We didn’t see him on the TV for quite a while, while the TV director focused on the chaos behind, so it’s difficult to know.
Bora-Hansgrohe have tweeted ‘Mission Accomplished’ so the plan was clearly always to go for the KOM jersey - and they’ve got it. Well played.
🇫🇷 #TDF2021
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) June 26, 2021
mission accomplished 👏👏👏
bravo @IdeSchelling 👌 pic.twitter.com/o3NPsVfMIe
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29km to go: Schelling rides on at the front. He looks a bit peeved with the situation. Roglic seems to have indicated he may have an arm injury although it does not look serious. Schelling’s lead has now collapsed to 19” and he’s about to be caught.
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30km to go: The gap is 1’00”. After the crash, Schelling must have sat up and waited along with the riders who made it through the crash? Otherwise surely he would be a lot further ahead. I am sure we will be able to find out more after the stage.
33km to go: A fan waits for the peloton in a US military jeep adorned with a tricolor and a Brêton flag - the Tour de France is truly an international event:
36km to go: This is a still of the moment before impact. The fan who caused the crash must feel terrible about what has just happened, to put it mildly, but she is getting a fair amount of criticism on social media right now, which is only to be expected.
#TDF2021 - Live pics of the idiot causing the crash. Wasn't even looking at the race. #LFRLive pic.twitter.com/PNziTvKiz9
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) June 26, 2021
We haven’t seen Schelling on TV for a while, but according to the TV timings, he has 1’29”. Deceuninck-Quickstep have started riding again at the front, chasing down our lone leader.
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Jasha Sütterlin (Team DSM) abandons.
The German domestique, who was caught up in that crash, has abandoned. He probably won’t be the last to pack it in after that crash.
40km to go: Deceuninck-Quickstep are massed at the front of the very slow-travelling bunch. Tony Martin has stopped to grab a new bike - thankfully he looks ok physically although he has blood on his arms.
42km to go: The time gap says 1’13” to Schelling but I’m not sure that can be right. A group with a lot of Ineos riders, and Deceuninck-Quickstep, are slowly progressing along the road having managed to avoid the crash. It’s complete carnage behind - the team cars are all being held up - riders are waiting for new bikes - and it seems unlikely that there will not be some riders abandoning after crashing heavily.
Huge crash in the peloton!
Tony Martin has crashed - it looked like he may have hit a spectator - and the whole Jumbo Visma team has gone down along with dozens and dozens of other riders ... Roglic has gone down heavily. Colbrelli is down, Alaphilippe is down. There is now just a huge mass of bikes and bodies in the narrow country road. The race is at a standstill - apart from a few riders towards the front who managed to avoid the crash, and of course our lone leader Schelling.
From the replays: the fan was holding up a cardboard sign with ‘Allez Opi-Omi!’ written on it in black marker - and was looking straight at the TV camera on the passing bike, rather than concentrating on the fast-approaching race. Riding on the right-hand side, Martin had nowhere to go, and went down after crashing into the spectator’s arm which was jutting out into the road.
Of course, at the front, Schelling is riding on and he has a gap of 1’10” if the time gap is to be believed. Is the race going to be neutralised? It’s another lesson for anyone who wants to go and watch a bike race in real life: Keep your eyes on the race, don’t be more focused on TV cameras or selfies ...
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47km to go: Schelling, still with a lead of 1’51” on the peloton, crests the Côte de Saint-Rivoal and secures the KOM jersey. Is he going to sit up? Or is he going to power on for the win?
49km to go: In commentary on ITV, David Millar points out that if Cavendish wins a stage in this first week, the hype about him potentially breaking Eddy Merckx’s record will really start to crank up: Cavendish has 30 stage wins to his name and Merckx, the record-holder, has 34.
Up front, Schelling continues to power away and has a lead of 1’58” on the peloton. If Schelling wins this - and it’s still unlikely - it would be the biggest shock since Lukas Pöstlberger won the first stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2017. But it would be a completely different victory: Pöstlberger capitalised on a late crash on a sprint stage, found himself at the front while on sprint leadout duties, and just kept going. Schelling’s solo ride has been more by design, although arguably his first target was the polka-dot jersey.
53km to go: Who do you fancy for today’s win?
Email me or tweet your predictions.
Schelling of Bora-Hansgrohe, our lone leader, is pedalling up an uncategorised climb and getting another huge ovation from the crowds that are lining these beautiful Brêton country roads.
Ineos and Jumbo-Visma are now massed at the front of the peloton and riding hard. The pace is much higher in the bunch now, and the faces are all focused and serious.
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60km to go: The gap to our lone leader and the peloton is down to 1’40”. The penultimate categorised climb of the day, the Côte de Saint-Rivoal, is fast approaching, and Schelling is determined to mop up the one KOM point on offer.
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62km to go: Schelling rolls through the intermediate sprint, solo, and as he does so, he receives a huge ovation from the fans who bash the advertising boards as he rides by. He smiles. And why not?
Caleb Ewan comfortably wins the sprint for second place, from the bunch, with Matthews and Sagan trying and failing to keep up with him.
On which note, here’s an Australian perspective on the prospects for this year’s race:
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64km to go: Speculation that UAE-Team Emirates have moved up because they are worried about the prospect of crosswinds.
66km to go: UAE-Team Emirates have suddenly appeared at the front of the peloton. Those previous five breakaway riders have been swallowed up. Schelling, up front, has 2’45”. The peloton are happy for him to have the KOM jersey (perhaps apart from Perez and Cofidis), but the stage win is almost certainly not on the cards.
70km to go: Alejandro Valverde for the win? He couldn’t, could he?
One for a 41-year old former world champ maybe https://t.co/iEYRtQQwkH
— William Fotheringham (@willfoth) June 26, 2021
Schelling is flying up at the front, and is now 2’23” ahead of his previous breakaway companions. Those five riders are only 20 or so seconds ahead of the peloton. Schelling isn’t going to win the stage, but he is looking good for the KOM jersey. The five riders behind have given up the chase.
“It was an error by Perez [not to chase Schelling],” says David Millar. “And one he is going to regret.”
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72km to go: “With a finish like that and a stage like today’s, isn’t Van der Poel worth a shout?” emails David Hindle. “Remembering his Tour of Britain domination a few years back and one uphill finish in particular where Matteo Trentin was left gesticulating the hopelessness he felt as he came in second, heavily distanced by the Dutch rider. Van der Poel will certainly fear no one.”
Absolutely - Van der Poel is targeting the win today - evidenced by his Alpecin-Fenix teammate Vakoc doing so much work on the front to control the gap. Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) is another possibility, along with Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange).
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76km to go: Back in the bunch, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Ineos) have a friendly chat. The Slovak and the Pole have been rivals since they were teenagers - in 2017, Kwiatkowski famously beat Sagan in a sprint at Milan-Sanremo. The third man in that select group was none other than Julian Alaphilippe, current world champion and favourite for today’s stage.
78km to go: The gap between peloton and break is 2’41” - but Schelling has not built a lead of 1’25” on the other five breakaway riders. If Perez wants to wear polka-dots tonight, he now needs to persuade his companions to help chase. But what’s in it for them?
Meanwhile, how excited am I to see Caleb Ewan in action during his third Tour? Well, he’s in my Velogames team, so I’m pretty excited in that sense.
We're sure @CalebEwan is hiding a smile under that mask 😃 How excited are you to see Caleb in action during his 3rd @LeTour?
— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) June 26, 2021
📸ASO - Pauline Ballet pic.twitter.com/0DJHzWqnwT
80km to go: Schelling takes the KOM point, so now he’s got two, along with Perez of Cofidis. Therefore, it’s going to be a straight fight between those two for the next point on offer, at the Côte de Saint-Rivoal, which arrives with 47km still to race.
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83km to go: Crash in the peloton. Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2R) and Joris Niewenhuis (DSM) both go down, but both are able to continue. Meanwhile up at the front, Ide Schelling has attacked his breakaway companions, trying to grab the KOM point on offer at the Côte de Stang Ar Garront.
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87km to go: It’s been an average speed of above 40km/h in the first 90km:
Consistent speeds above 40km/h and spikes above 80km/h: the breakaway and the peloton already show their willingness to battle it out on stage 1.#TDF2021 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/M7mGZpBbtw
— letourdata (@letourdata) June 26, 2021
Sonny Colbrelli (Team Bahrain Victorious) gets another mention in commentary - this time on Eurosport - as a potential yellow-jersey wearer come the end of the day. Personally I’m not convinced about Colbrelli’s chances of the Stage 1 win: Following La Course earlier today, Marianne Vos said that the final climb, the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups, is much harder than it looks. So that would point at it being a day for a lighter rider such as Alaphilippe. The positioning going into the final climb will be important, but at 3km it’s long enough that the cream will rise to the top, in terms of who is on flying form going into this first week.
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92km to go: Petr Vakoc (Alpecin-Fenix) is prominent at the front of the peloton. Along with Tim Declercq, he is getting through plenty of work to keep the breakaway under control. Vakoc is resplendent in the team’s special jersey which is a tribute to ‘Pou-Pou’, AKA Raymond Poulidor, AKA ‘The Eternal Second’. The legend of French cycling, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 83, finished second at the Tour three times, and third five times.
94km to go: Jumbo-Visma riders, including Tony ‘Der Panzerwagen’ Martin, have a drink and a bit to eat -
🇫🇷 #TDF2021
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) June 26, 2021
Less than 100 km to go. The breakaway still 1'40 in front.
Time for some refreshments. 🍼 pic.twitter.com/LInm83Dtrf
95km to go: There is a bit of rain in the air. The last thing these riders will want is wet roads for what is sure to be a nervous finale.
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97km to go: The six-man break is approaching the Côte de Stang Ar Garront - it’s a category-four - Anthony Perez will want to win it and strengthen his grip on the KOM jersey. Perez was fighting hard for the polka-dots last year before crashing out - so clearly feels he has unfinished business here.
100km to go: The gap is down to 1’57”.
Meanwhile, here is Mark Cavendish meeting a dog before the start:
Who let the dogs out! 🎶#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/9WZO1MxRQL
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 26, 2021
110km to go: Here’s a story from Jeremy Whittle about Brexit-related damage to the careers of pro cyclists from the UK -
The 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, the former world road race champion Lizzie Deignan and the seven-time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome are among leading names in British cycling to have signed an open letter calling on the government to assist young British riders whose racing careers have been stalled by post-Brexit travel arrangements.
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105km to go: If you’re a keen cyclist, I highly recommend doing the Club des Cinglés ride, which involves cycling up all three roads to the summit of Mont Ventoux in one day - from Bédoin, Malaucène and Sault. You send off for a card, which you get stamped at the various stops to prove you did the ride. Their website says Club de Cinglés means ‘the Mont Ventoux crazed’. Google Translate says cinglés means ‘weirdos’, which feels closer to it. I did it nearly five years ago, although not at Tour de France race pace.
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107km to go: The gap is 2’12”.
Looking ahead, the first mountain test of this year’s race comes on Stage 8: a 150km trip from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand in the Alps, which takes in three category-one climbs. The last of those is the famous Col de la Colombière before a speedy descent to the finish line into Le Grand-Bornand.
Stage 9 brings the first summit finish - the stage begins in Cluses and heads up to the ski resort of Tignes. There is a hors-catégorie climb, the Col du Pré, chucked in with two category-twos and two category-twos. That is going to hurt the legs a little bit.
Stage 11, on Wednesday 7 July, is probably the most eagerly-awaited of this year’s race, the 198.9km route from Sorgues to Malaucène taking in two ascents of the ‘Giant of Provence’, Mont Ventoux. The first ascent is from Sault, the second is the traditional route up from Bédoin.
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112km to go: Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) crashed a while back but all seems to be fine:
🇫🇷 @JulienBernard17 crashed in the peloton but he's back up and off.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 26, 2021
🇫🇷 @JulienBernard17 chute dans le peloton mais il est remonté.#TDF2021
113km to go: A reminder of the breakaway riders: Franck Bonnamour (B&B Hotels p/b KTM), Danny van Poppel (Intermarché-Wanty), Cristian Rodriguez (Team TotalEnergies), Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Connor Swift (Arkéa-Samsic).
Van Poppel was dropped on that last climb, and had to work hard to recover, but he eventually got back in the breakaway group.
119km to go: No doubt, there will be plenty of nerves in the peloton about how the finish is going to go, but just at the moment it looks like a relatively easy day for a lot of riders. The gap has come down to 2’18”.
Hi @LukeMcLaughlin. It's not summer until the Le Tour starts, is it? While there's a wealth of puncheurs and climbers for stage wins, it feels like there's only 4 or 5 GC contenders. But what riders they are. I'd love to see Cav grab a stage but really I'm just happy he's here.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) June 26, 2021
If there is one thing we know about Cavendish: if there is a way to win, he will find it. In normal years, he would have been poring over the road book since the route being unveiled last October, trying to work out his best chances of stage wins. This time around, he didn’t expect to be racing the Tour, so may not have done as much preparation, but rest assured he will have been cramming it in since he got the call. Cavendish may not have the flat-out speed of old, but he has the best leadout train in the race, and no shortage of instinct and experience which he will bring to bear in the sprints.
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123km to go: Pretty scenes in western France. Isn’t it? Wasn’t it? Marvellous.
Qu’elle est belle notre @regionbretagne ⛵️
— B&B HOTELS p/b KTM (@BBHOTELSpbKTM) June 26, 2021
📸 @LauraneHabasque | @hello_spk #TDF2021 | #MenInGlaz pic.twitter.com/g6tPQZPve9
125km to go: 2’55” is the gap. All quiet in the bunch. Tim Declercq continues to tap out a steady yet massively powerful rhythm on the front of the peloton.
127km to go: Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team) just had a chat on Eurosport: He pointed out how hard the early part of the final climb is, which makes it a particular challenge. You have to fancy that the likes of Alaphilippe will want to try and put in a crushing attack on those early, steep slopes and create a very select group to go for the win ... On commentary, Eurosport’s Carlton Kirby points out that a lot of GC riders will be nervous about losing time today given the climbs, plus the twists and turns on the way.
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Pre-race quotes here from this morning, courtesy of letour.fr, from the breakaway rider Franck Bonnamour:
“It’s a lot of emotion at the start line this morning”, he said. “I’m very attached to the town of Brest, I lived here for a while and I’ve got a lot of family in the area. A lot of supporters. I know the roads of this first stage off by heart, so it’s going to be a lot of fun today. I’d like to be up at the front today. We’d like to have a man in the breakaway, and why not go for the polka dot jersey, that’d be a great way to start this Tour de France.”
And there you go - he achieved his wish, and got in the break. He will be thrilled, just like his family and friends along the route.
132km to go: So far, Perez has taken two KOM points with Schelling, Campanaerts and Van Poppel all grabbing one. There are two category-four climbs remaining in the day before the final climb which is a category-three (safe to say none of these break riders will take any points there, so it’ll come down to the next couple of ascents, to see who is in polka-dots come the end of the day).
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133km to go: Tim Declercq is still the man doing the bulk of the work on the front of the peloton. The gap is back out to three minutes.
Have you read William Fotheringham’s team-by-team guide for this year’s race? Check it!
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136km to go: It turns out that the Côte de Locronan runs up through a very pretty little village. Anthony Perez (Cofidis) jumps away towards the top, and takes two KOM points. Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) was second and takes a point.
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137km to go: The gap between break and peloton has dropped to 2’26”. The third climb of the day, the Côte de Locronan, is coming up for the breakaway riders. It’s only 900m long but it’s an average of 9.3% gradient.
Weather-wise, the temperature is around 17C, so it’s below average for the time of year. The riders will not mind that: They will doubtless have a few baking hot days on their way to Paris. Things will certainly be heating up on Wednesday week, which is the day they will tackle Mont Ventoux not once but twice.
138km to go: The highlight of ITV’s coverage, so far, was the anchor man Gary Imlach handing over to commentators ‘Nave and Ded’ rather than “Dave and Ned’ at the start of the race. We’ve all been there (well, sort of).
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140km to go: It’s an unusual opening week to the Tour de France - thanks, like most things these days, to the impact of Covid-19. Copenhagen was meant to host the grand départ but instead there are four stages in Brittany to kick off, before a 27.2km time trial on Stage 5 near Laval. The Tour official website says:
“The first week of the Tour hasn’t offered such a long individual time-trial since 2008, year of the last Grand Départ in… Brest! Geography commanded to break an eventual litany of flat stages and this gift to the time-trial specialists shows our will to vary the scenario and reshuffle the established positions.”
145km to go: The gap is holding steady at around 3min - currently 2’48”. The teams in the break are representing themselves well and getting some nice TV time for the sponsors: Franck Bonnamour (B&B Hotels p/b KTM), Danny van Poppel (Intermarché-Wanty), Cristian Rodriguez (Team TotalEnergies), Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Connor Swift (Arkéa-Samsic).
148km to go: Greg Mitchell emails: “Clearly, Sunday club rides in Slovenia are much more relaxed than here in the South of England if you’re able to smile at any point other than the coffee stop :-) .”
Fair point Greg. These club rides are terribly fast-paced, flat-out affairs aren’t they? Where’s the fun in that, eh? I’ll rephrase: Pogacar looks like he’s pootling down to his local shop for a morning coffee.
How about Pogacar for the stage win today? I’ve heard he can climb a bit. That would be a nice little statement of intent™.
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151km to go: The breakaway has 2’55”. Chris Boardman is looking ahead to the grand finale, saying that the peloton will be strung out before the final climb, with all the GC riders and teams trying to get to the front. “The maths doesn’t work,” he says, regarding the lack of space on the roads. He thinks Sonny Colbrelli could potentially win today if he can cling on in the early, steeper part of the final climb.
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156km to go: There was an interesting quote from Geraint Thomas on ITV earlier, talking before the race, about Ineos’s power-packed team (with Thomas, Carapaz and Geoghegan Hart, they have a Tour de France winner and two Giro winners, plus a traditional GC contender in Richie Porte who won the Dauphiné earlier this month). “It will be fine as long we keep communicating and we’re honest with each other,” Thomas said.
Will it be a case of letting the road decide? David Millar, speaking on ITV, believes that Thomas is Ineos’s outright leader, given the form he has shown so far this season combined with his experience, and status as a past winner of the biggest race of the season.
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157km to go: The reigning champion, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, is pictured riding in the bunch. He looks ludicrously relaxed, smiling at the camera, riding along happily as if he’s on a Sunday club ride.
Do you think Pog, Rog, or someone else will prevail? Feel free to email me your predictions.
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160km to go: Tim Declercq is the man doing a ton of work on the front of the peloton for the Belgian team Deceuninck-Quickstep.
.@Tim_Declercq leads the #TDF2021 peloton behind the first escapees of this edition: Franck Bonnamour, Anthony Perez, Cristian Rodriguez, Ide Schelling and Danny van Poppel.
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) June 26, 2021
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/gSdVDmi2pC
162km to go: Van der Poel, of course, is among the favourites to win today’s stage and take the maillot jaune. Julian Alaphilippe of Deceuninck-Quickstep is the outstanding favourite in many people’s eyes, however. The final climb is 3km long and we are guaranteed to see a huge punch-up (in cycling terms) there. It should be spectacular.
163km to go: The UCI issued a press release earlier saying that Alpecin-Fenix have been given permission to wear a special jersey in tribute to Raymond Poulidor on TdF Stage 1:
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that it has exceptionally granted permission to UCI ProTeam Alpecin-Fenix to wear a special jersey in honour of Raymond Poulidor on today’s opening stage of the Tour de France.
“At the Team Presentation in Brest, Brittany (France) on Thursday, Alpecin-Fenix riders sported a ‘Poupou’ Team jersey in honour of Raymond Poulidor, grandfather of team member Mathieu Van der Poel. Although it had been agreed between the team, the UCI and organisers Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), that the jersey would be worn at the Team Presentation only, the UCI has now allowed the riders to wear the jersey on Saturday’s first stage between Brest and Landerneau.”
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165km to go: Here is a crazy story -
“Lachlan Morton, the maverick Australian adventure racer signed to the EF Nippo team, will ride every stage of this year’s Tour de France – including all transfers between stages – not among his peers, but on his own behind the race convoy, with the aim of reaching the Champs Élysées in Paris on 18 July ahead of the Tour peloton.
“I think my actual moving time will be around 12 hours a day, Morton said “... but I’ll be out there for longer as you inevitably spend time stopped, getting water and food. So I think for more than half of the time over the next three weeks, I will be riding.””
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If you fancy getting interactive, you can send thoughts to me on email - or indeed tweet @lukemclaughlin ...
170km to go: The break is on the second climb of the day, the Côte de Rosnoën. It’s 3km long at a gentle 4% average gradient.
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171km to go: One of the breakaway riders, Danny van Poppel, is a sprinter by trade - he was never in the very top echelon of the fast men, but does possess a seriously speedy kick. In the alternative reality in which this break makes it to the finish in Landerneau, he would fancy his chances.
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174km to go: We can all settle down a bit. The break has three minutes now. Tao Geoghegan Hart of Team Ineos, at the front of the bunch, has a friendly chat with Rui Costa (UAE-Team Emirates). It’s all calm back in the bunch. They will probably let this break have five minutes plus. Ned Boulting just mentioned that this is Geoghegan Hart’s Tour de France debut - quite a surprising fact for a rider that’s been around for a few years and won a Grand Tour.
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175km to go: The British rider Connor Swift (Team Arkéa Samsic) has bravely battled across to join up with the breakaway. “He’s burnt a lot of matches to get to this point,” observes David Millar on ITV.
Meanwhile, here’s today’s stage profile:
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179km to go: Five men in the break: Danny van Poppel (Intermarché), Cristian Rodríguez (TotalEnergies), Anthony Perez (Cofidis) and Ide Schelling (Bora) are there with Franck Bonnamour (B&B Hotels p/b KTM). The peloton sits up. This is the move of the day with just under 180km to race.
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180km to go: Demi Vollering finished off a fine team effort by SD Worx to win La Course earlier today. Here’s the race report:
182km to go: Franck Bonnamour (B&B Hotels p/b KTM), a Brêton rider, has burst off the front. Danny Van Poppel (Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux) is there with him, plus AN other ... There are some lovely helicopter shots of the rolling hills of Brittany.
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Brush up on all the happenings this week in France with our race preview:
185km to go: Campanaerts wins the first categorised climb of the 2021 Tour de France - the Côte de Trébéolin, a category-four. Not bad for a rider who’s traditionally a time-trial specialist! It’s still strung out at the front, very much like a one-day classic rather than the beginning of a grand tour ...
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190km to go: The peloton, if you can call it that, is strung out. It’s a huge bunfight to try and get in the break, which is little surprise given the profile of today’s stage: It looks tailor-made for a break to stay away if they get a decent gap. Once it’s settled down - if it settles down - I’ll give you some names! Campanaerts has another bash off the front, he is looking full of beans and ready to take this on.
192km to go: A rider from Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux is up top, and flicks his elbow asking one of his companions to come through and do some work. It’s a full-on start to begin this year’s Tour.
195km to go: Ouch - there’s a crash on a right-hand bend as the riders try to negotiate some road furniture. I think it may have been Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo). Anyway, thankfully no serious injuries, it would appear. A host of the smaller French teams are prominent at the front and trying to snap the elastic from the chasing peloton. A group of five riders has a little gap.
197.8km to go: Christian Prudhomme waves his flag from the commissaire’s car, and there are attacks immediately, of course ... Victor Campanaerts (Qhubeka Assos) is to the fore, and there a couple of riders from B&B Hotels p/b KTM too.
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Preamble
It wasn’t so long ago that if Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish stood at the start line at the Tour de France, the yellow and green jerseys were considered more or less sewn up for the summer. But cycling has moved on, and it is difficult to determine what would constitute success for Froome and Cavendish across the next three weeks. Perhaps just making it to Paris would be a triumph for Froome, after his horrific crash a couple of years ago, while for the Manx sprinter Cavendish, a single stage win to add to his existing 30 would be a good return. Cavendish is only here because of a knee injury to his teammate Sam Bennett, so anything is a bonus.
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) are widely expected to duke it out for the general classification again, perhaps with the 2018 champion Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) fighting them all the way to Paris. But there are a million ways this could all play out - Ineos alone have three grand tour winners on the team with Thomas, Richard Carapaz and Tao Geoghegan Hart. Movistar have their usual host of stars (and egos) in the shape of Miguel Ángel López, Alejandro Valverde and Enric Mas.
There is no easy flat stage for the GC contenders to start, either: Today’s 197.8km trip in Brittany, between Brest and Landerneau on Stage 1, is punchy to say the least: It’s up and down all day, with no fewer than six categorised climbs and one intermediate sprint leading to a summit finish atop the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups - AKA the wolf pit. It’s going to be an emotional three weeks, as always. Let’s get it on.
