From our special correspondent in Rimini – Romain Bardet won the first stage of the 2024 Tour de France in Rimini on Saturday. The 33-year-old Frenchman will wear the yellow jersey for the first time in his career as he competes in his last Grand Boucle.
Published on: 06/29/2024 – 5:53 p.m. Modified on: 06/29/2024 – 6:58 p.m.
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“But what possessed you? To go and win in Rimini?” On the first stage of the Tour de France, Romain Bardet paid tribute to local hero Marco Pantani on Saturday, June 29, by hijacking the race. With a banderilla planted 52 km from the finish, he won the stage and the first yellow jersey of his career.
A great reward for a cyclist who has long dedicated his career to the Tour de France. Despite two podiums (2nd in 2016, 3rd in 2017), he had never worn the yellow jersey. A mistake that has now been corrected and this fourth stage victory on the Tour is undoubtedly the most beautiful.
“The yellow jersey? It was one of my career goals, but I had come to terms with it a bit. I was sometimes too close to be let go. There, I followed my instinct and every time I followed my instinct on the bike, it worked out pretty well,” he said at the finish, before savouring the presentation of the coveted jersey.
𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐓, 𝐋𝐄 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐃𝐄 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/wja3aOf9LQ
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) June 29, 2024
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A spectacular Grand Departure
This Grand Departure of the Tour de France 2024 in Italy will have kept all its promises in terms of spectacle and emotion. Under the blazing sun of the Tuscan summer, the runners first completed a long parade of around forty minutes through the streets of the Medici city, culminating in a crossing of the Ponte Vecchio.
The FFL was proud of you (ooh-ooh)
No but seriously, what got into you (ooh-ooh)
To go and win in Rimini (ooh-ooh) pic.twitter.com/lGgW7av33M— Fédé 🇫🇷 de la Lose (@FFLose) June 29, 2024
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A delicious antipasti before a heartier meal based on seven listed climbs and 3,600 meters of elevation gain, a record for a first stage of the Tour. A stage profile which quickly caused damage, particularly for Mark Cavendish. The 39-year-old sprinter, looking for a 35th victory on the Tour to beat Eddy Merckx’s record, was quickly let go as soon as the slope rose, and he fought all day with the help from its partners to stay on schedule.
But with a start in Florence and a finish in Rimini, the Tour de France was especially keen to honour its Italian heroes. As it left the Tuscan city, the stage visited Ponte a Ema, the birthplace of Gino Bartali, a cycling champion recognised as Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jews from deportation.
If the “Campissimo” was not forgotten, the Italians especially paid tribute on the sides of the road to the darling of Emilia-Romagna, Marco Pantani, found dead of an overdose in 2004 in Rimini. Banners, photos, Pirate bandana… “Pantani vive” (Pantani lives) always in the hearts of the Transalpine people. A beautiful tribute was also paid to him on the Barbotto coast in the form of a Pantani bend.
Many favorites already in difficulty
In the stage, the first heroes are Matej Mohoric, Ion Izaguirre, Frank Van den Broek, Valentin Madouas, Clément Champoussin, Sandy Dujardin and Mattéo Vercher, soon joined by Jonas Abrahamsen and Ryan Gibbons. The nine constituted the first breakaway of the Tour. Their escape diminished over the kilometers and the hills and she was finally the victim of Romain Bardet’s offensive, carried 50 km from the finish in coordination with his teammate Frank Van den Broek from the coast of San Leo.
Behind the Frenchman, determined to make an impression on his last Tour de France, the pursuit is organized and a mano a mano begins. A manhunt which often ends badly for the escapees and the suspense lasts until the line.
#TDF2024 | YES ROMAN!
Huge! Romain Bardet wins the first stage of the Tour de France and wears the yellow jersey for the first time in his career while competing in his last Tour. The story is magnificent 🤩 🔥
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) June 29, 2024
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Romain Bardet can thank Frank van der Broek who gave everything he had to stay a few meters ahead of the peloton. The two men won just ahead of the peloton, whose sprint was won by Wout van Aert.
“We didn’t have time to think about anything. The effort was total. I was starting to cramp. At 500 m, I saw the peloton but there was still a little margin. We didn’t have time to think about anything. never stopped encouraging each other”, relates Bardet. “We both distributed the tasks well. I did the train on the hills, he on the flat.”
Romain Bardet hopes to bring the jersey back to France on Tuesday but remains realistic: “I raced as if it were a one-day classic today. Not sure I have the legs to resist tomorrow on the San Luca hill. “
