TOUR DE FRANCE IN THE ALPS
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An unpleasant dsy in the saddle
A nice day around Nice? I couldn't have been more wrong in my race preview yesterday. It was a terrible opening stage. However, Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), the winner of the stage made a great job.
The 156 km long route around Nice, where the peloton crossed the finish line a total of three times, became a cyclist nightmare as soon as the rain started to fall.
Three riders escaped right after the départ réel: Michael Schar (CCC Team), Cyril Gautier (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) and Fabien Grellier (Total-Direct Energie). When they all were caught within the final 60 km, the peloton has much bigger problems than them.
It's a commonly well-known thing, that the first week of Tour de France is about anxiety, the possibility of crashed are quite high anytime. On the other hand, rainfall can make a route with of ups and downs pretty dangerous. These two components came together on the first stage of Tour de France 2020 and sometimes created chaotic situations.
Although according to the stage results everyone finished the day, John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) arrived out of time limits (and with a serious knee injury), and probably more riders will announce before the start of the 2nd stage, that they have to quit the most awaited race of the race (especially after the Big Restart). Riders were involved in crashes from every team, sometimes even the number 1 cyclists of the teams. The most notable of them was Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who hit the ground just right inside the last 3 km. Due to this fact, he didn't lose time, but it was very sad to watch as he with some teammates and other riders a few minutes after the majority of the peloton. Actually, there were all the three times a big crash near to the finish line, something must have been wrong with the road and/or the cordons.
Nevertheless, the riders took (almost) all the precautions as they realized, how dangerous is the road down from the second climbs of the day. Surely it will one of the most memorable moments of this year's Tour de France when Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) at the front of the peloton gave the sign to the rest of the riders: please everybody calm (and slow) down. First, the Astana riders weren't so cautious, but after Miguel Angel Lopez slipped out of the road and had very big luck with not getting injured, they also took back with the tempo.
The final 30-35 km of the race wasn't pleasant neither the rider, nor the audience watching them. Seeing the cyclists looking worried, shivering from the cold rain, warning each other to slow down and be very careful, could drag even the much-seen cycling fans out of their comfort zone.
In the finale, Trek-Segafredo was working for Mad Pedersen very well. He finished the stage on 2nd place, because Alexander Kristoff, who came from a far less optimal position, was simply unbeatable this day. For the first time in his successful career, the Norwegian rider will wear the yellow jersey on Sunday.
(leadpic: A.S.O/Facebook)
Related posts:
http://pelotontales.com/tour-de-france-2020-stage-1-results