Cycling Bardet wins first stage of the 111th Tour – Cavendish suffers
Frenchman Romain Bardet (r) won ahead of his Dutch teammate Frank van den Broek. Photo
© Daniel Cole/AP/dpa
3600 meters of altitude and high temperatures in Tuscany: The start of the Tour de France is the first test of strength. The Frenchman Bardet wins the stage. Veteran Cavendish struggles to the finish.
At the exhausting start of the 111th Tour de France in the Italian heat, the favorites Tadej Pogacar and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard did not have a major first exchange of blows. The French professional cyclist Romain Bardet from the Dutch dsm team led by the German John Degenkolb won after 206 demanding kilometers between Florence and the seaside resort of Rimini ahead of his young teammate Frank van den Broek from the Netherlands. Both crossed the finish line as breakaway riders a few seconds ahead of the main field. The Belgian Wout van Aert came in third. The 33-year-old Bardet took his fourth Tour stage win.
Mark Cavedish, on the other hand, had little reason to be happy. At the start of the Tour de France, he had to seriously question his big goal of winning another stage during the race to set the record. The 39-year-old veteran was completely exhausted early in the race on Saturday and was in danger of falling out of the time limit with a gap of more than 30 minutes to the leaders.
Pogacar vs Vingegaard
The favorites, including two-time Giro winner Tadej Pogacar and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, who recently returned from injury, held back, and the first big showdown may take place on Sunday. Some observers expected an early attack from Slovenian Pogacar. “It’s not that time today. But I think Sunday or the stage on Tuesday will be super tough for the favorites,” he said before the start of the stage.
The 25-year-old Giro winner is considered a big favorite for the Tour de France title and could triumph in both grand tours in one year for the first time since Marco Pantani 26 years ago. Vingegaard had not competed in a race since his serious injury in April. “Of course he didn’t have the optimal preparation. But we are ready to fight and we are taking it day by day,” said Vingegaard’s sports director Grischa Niermann on Eurosport.
High temperatures take their toll on drivers
For the first time, the tour started in Italy. And the first of a total of 21 sections was not only challenging because of the 3,600 meters of elevation, which according to the organizers had never been seen before at the start. The high temperatures sapped the riders’ strength. In some places, temperatures of up to 38 degrees were measured on the route.
Sprint star Mark Cavendish in particular suffered under the conditions during his 15th Tour participation. Shortly before the Col de Valico Tre Faggi, the first of a total of seven climbs of the day, he even had to vomit. His teammates repeatedly sprayed water on his neck. Cavendish’s Italian colleague Michele Gazzoli had to abandon the race 89 kilometers from the finish.
The sprint star, who actually wanted to end his career last year, is not a mountain professional anyway. The 39-year-old actually wants to secure the sole record for the most stage wins in the Tour. He currently holds the best number with 34 stage victories together with Belgian Eddy Merckx.
After falling with a spectator: Hirt breaks off parts of his tooth
However, there were also problems of a different kind: The Tour got off to a painful start for the Czech cyclist Jan Hirt. Shortly before the start of the stage in Florence, he collided with a spectator. A spokesman for the Soudal-Quickstep team confirmed this when asked by the German Press Agency, but was unable to provide any details. Hirt’s two teeth were damaged. According to the spokesman, the start was chaotic. Many spectators were gathered around the buses.
On the second day of the tour, the pros will start in Cesenatico on Sunday. The city is the birthplace of the Tour de France winner Marco Pantani, who died in 2004. The stage ends in Bologna after 199.2 kilometers and a few short but tough climbs. A breakaway rider with all-round qualities could win there. There may also be a first showdown between the favorites.
dpa
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