today, 21:50 | by Bram van der Ploeg
The first stage in the Tour de France has set tongues wagging. No prologue, no simple sprint stage, but a stage with 3,600 meters of altitude and a finish at the bottom… Half the peloton dreams of a stage win and the first yellow jersey, but for whom is that double actually realistic? In the Leader’s Jersey, the most important names in the peloton heard and concluded: this is going to be a gamble!
For your Tour pool, it is nice to start with the stage winner on board, with the yellow jersey as a bonus. All the big names had their say about the ride and opinions are divided. One looks purely at the 3,600 meters of elevation and the total of seven categorized climbs that the riders face over 206 kilometers from Florence to Rimini. Others look a little further and don’t see any super tough obstacles in all those cols. The last climb, with 7.1 kilometers at 4.8 percent, is a runner in their eyes.
Who will say category-Van der Poel or Pedersen for stage 1 in the Tour de France?
Mads Pedersen was mentioned the most in the first days when the first stage was discussed. ‘He has been world champion and can go very deep in one day. It will be on the limit for him, but Lidl-Trek has no one for the rankings. If you think out loud, he is one of the logical names, together with Van der Poel and Van Aert,” says Geraint Thomas.
Remco Evenepoel agreed: ‘I saw Pedersen climb in the Dauphiné and he did well. I think that if he has the legs and he can handle the pressure of a team like UAE-Team Emirates, then in my eyes he is the top favorite for the day’s victory. But I also think of Van Aert and Van der Poel, if they are in top form. If UAE goes bananas from the first climb, there will be a small group at the finish. But if the race unfolds as I think, then Pedersen is the favorite, with Wout and Mathieu behind him.’
More supporters for the Pedersen category? ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he can sprint for it, he was really good in the Dauphiné. We will support him and then he has a good chance,” said Lidl-Trek teammate Giulio Ciccone. The main character himself does not run away from the challenge. ‘We will go for it, especially without a classification rider. It would be crazy not to try, but it will be at or even over the limit. It all has to go well for us, but we are certainly not going to pass it up in advance. However, there is still a difference between trying something and actually winning,” said Pedersen.
“It’s a gamble, I’m not going to say here that I can win. It also depends on the other teams, it’s in their hands whether I make it or not,” the Dane continued. “If UAE wants to win and goes all out from the bottom of the climb, then I have no chance. We have to see at the top of the last climb what the situation is and if we can recover something. We can talk about that for hours, but we’ll see on Saturday.”
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Mads Pedersen
Who will say category Pogacar for stage 1 in the Tour de France?
While most riders are watching UAE-Team Emirates, there are also a lot of guys who should have the legs to try something themselves. Think of Tom Pidcock, who dreams of yellow at INEOS Grenadiers. ‘I feel really good and I know I’m good. Yellow in the opening weekend is possible, I’ve been dreaming about it and working hard for it the last few months. There are a lot of guys who have the same dream, so it won’t be easy. But we’ll definitely go for it.’
The same texts with the same type, Maxim Van Gils: ‘Hopefully we will go to the finish in a group and then I will also have a fast sprint. The first stage presents a route that suits me quite well. Although many riders will have indicated that ride. It’s kind of Ardennes-like. The San Marino climb is not too steep and normally it runs in a descending line to the finish afterwards. That climb is quite difficult. Sprinting with a small group would be ideal.’
A combination of climbing legs and sprint power, that’s what we need. Van der Poel already carefully crossed himself out. ‘It will depend on the course, although I think it will be a bit too hard. We’ll see, I didn’t put everything on it. I’m going to try to survive and maybe we’ll sprint with a small group.’ That’s what the top favorite Pogacar, mentioned by some, expects. ‘That stage won’t be hard enough to make a difference’, the Slovenian said quite convincingly.
Nonsense, said Danny van Poppel of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe when asked. ‘I studied the first stage and heard stories about what it’s like, and it’s actually a full-fledged Alpine stage. We don’t finish uphill, but it’s going to be tough. I wonder if Pedersen will survive that. That’s very ambitious, because I’m thinking more about the GC guys. If they start shaking the tree, not many can follow, like on day one in the Giro.’
Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | e-mail: [email protected])
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2024-06-28 19:50:00
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