Romain Bardet was imposed in the first stage of the Tour de France 2024, disputed this Saturday between Florence and Rimini, Italy, of 206 kilometers, in which he became the first leader of the competition.
According to the criteria of
Egan Bernal (Ineos) He was active and stayed out of the main group after a serious battle in seven lower category mountain passes, but which hurt several riders.
Leaders on the attack
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma), Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates), Primoz Roglic (Bora) and Remco Eenepoel (Soudal) also survived the first battle of the competition, with short climbs, but very complicated slopes.
The step was so strong that Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain) He lost his rhythm and stopped being part of the main group, but then he connected with the help of his teammates.
There was a leak in the first kilometers, cyclists who had more than four minutes on the main lot, but little by little as the kilometers were reduced the difference decreased.
Difficult moments
Visma and UAE Emirates quickened the pace and that ruined the clear objective that the escapees had. In the end, Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek (DSM) tried to hold on alone at the front, looking to get their first win of the day and wear the yellow jersey.
The sprinters paid the price for the tough pace of the group. Cyclists like Mark Cavendish and the Colombian Fernando Gaviria They lost their step, fell behind and gave up many minutes at the finish line.
When the leaders entered the final 10 kilometers of the fraction, the difference that the two escapees had over the group was only 48 seconds, so capture was imminent.
Bardet and Van der Broek pedalled hard and with two kilometres to go they only had a 16-second lead, but the group did not let them go, they came after them and the victory was decided in the sprint between the survivors.
However, the two DSM riders held on and went on to secure the victory, which went to Bardet, who had never worn yellow in the Tour, but had finished second in the 2016 edition and third in the 2017 edition.
This Sunday the second part of the competition will be played between Cesenatico and Bologna199 kilometers, a route very similar to that of the first day, with six short, low-category mountain prizes, but with steep slopes.
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