Tour de France: Julian Alaphilippe takes opening stage marred by big crashes
Julian Alaphilippe crosses the line in Landerneau.
Julian Alaphilippe crosses the line in Landerneau. Photograph: Chris Graythen/Reuters
This article is more than 3 years old
French rider wins and takes yellow jersey in Landerneau
Chris Froome among riders hurt in crash 8km from line
In a chaotic and bloody finish to stage one of the Tour de France, Julian Alaphilippe of France took the yellow jersey, as the four-times champion Chris Froome struggled to get back on to his bike after being caught in a high-speed crash, shortly before the final climb to the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups.
Alaphilippe’s searing acceleration shredded a front group still recovering from the aftermath of two crashes. Despite being among the fallers in the first crash, the world road champion opened a significant gap on his rivals and held on to his advantage to seal both the stage win and the overall lead.
“My intention was to win a stage as soon as possible,” Alaphilippe said. “I had to make the race hard from the foot of the climb and to get rid of some of the sprinters and different riders who were fast finishers. We made the selection and after that I gave my best, but it was tough to hold on to the lead until the line.”
His win, given how suited the final hill was to his punchy riding style, was hardly a shock. What was shocking was the level of carnage that came before it.
The Tour has never had much time for the best-laid plans of mice and men, or the statements of intent in pre-race press conferences and press releases. Stage one was a perfect example of how careers can be changed in a split second as the chaotic closing kilometres in Brittany created gaps as big as those on some mountain stages.
Hanging on to Alaphilippe’s coat tails and emerging from the melee was a clutch of favourites, including the defending champion, Tadej Pogacar, the pre-race favourite, Jumbo–Visma’s Primoz Roglic, who also snatched four bonus seconds, and the 2018 Tour winner, Geraint Thomas.
But the list of casualties, both of the crashes and of Alaphilippe’s violent acceleration, was long. Richie Porte, third overall in 2020 and a faller in the second crash, lost over two minutes, while his Ineos teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart lost over five and a half minutes. Such large gaps would suggest that the Grenadiers’ four-leader strategy has already slipped away.
“It was stressful,” Thomas said. “That crash at the end, I had no idea who was in it and it ended up Richie was in it, which wasn’t great. I was just concentrating on staying on my bike, basically.
“Then I was too far back on the last climb but at the time I thought ‘this is okay, I’ll slowly move up when it lulls after the steep bit,’ but it never lulled. It was full gas all the way up, which made my life a bit harder, but personally, not bad, for the first day.”
Some of Thomas’s rivals fared far worse. The Colombian climber Miguel Ángel López, another podium contender, lost almost two minutes, while others, such as Michael Woods, the leader of the Israel Start-Up Nation team, lost more than eight. Froome was even further back, as he hauled himself to the finish almost a quarter of an hour behind Alaphilippe.
Switzerland’s Marc Hirschi receives medical attention after falling into a ditch during the first stage.
Switzerland’s Marc Hirschi receives medical attention after falling into a ditch during the first stage. Photograph: Getty Images,
Despite the chaos, Roglic looked on top of his game, sneaking into third place behind the Frenchman and even, as is his habit, garnering bonus seconds, as he edged slightly ahead of Thomas, who placed 10th.
So bad were the pair of mass crashes that footage soon emerged of spectators running for cover as riders careered off the tarmac towards them, including one panicking mother yanking her toddler into nearby woods as riders tumbled headlong into the verge.
There was no doubt that the first crash, 44km from the finish, was caused by a fan holding out a banner aimed at greeting her family watching on TV, that protruded into the road. As she focused on the passing TV motorbikes, it blocked the path of Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin and took down most of the peloton. The Tour organiser, ASO, was reported to have said it would sue the spectator concerned.
Only a dozen or so riders avoided being caught up in the carnage. With the race in effect neutralised, the peloton came back together and resumed racing.
“Everyone is happy that there are crowds back again at the road side but everyone must pay attention,” Alaphilippe said. “I call on all the fans to be cautious. I lost a bit of time in the first crash, but I hope everyone is OK.”
Unruly fans looked to be the least of Froome’s worries as he rode slowly to the finish line, clearly in pain and struggling to pedal. As he headed for scans and X-rays, it was unclear if he would be able to recover sufficiently to continue in the race.
His team put out a statement late on Saturday, saying: “Further checkups at the hospital have ruled out any fractures for Reto Hollenstein and Chris Froome after their crashes today. They will be monitored by the team’s medical staff overnight. Another update will be given tomorrow morning.”
Explore more on these topics
Leave a Reply