Against all odds, Romain Bardet won the opening stage of the Tour de France 2024. The experienced French rider came in first at the finish ahead of his teammate, Dutchman Frank van den Broek, taking the win in a thrilling 206-kilometer leg-breaker between Firenze and Rimini.
The Team dsm-firmenich PostNL leader, who became the first leader of the French round, took a time of 5 hours, 7 minutes and 12 seconds to claim victory. The group of favorites was led by Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), 5 seconds behind.
As for the Colombians, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) had an outstanding performance, finishing 12th, as did Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), who was 47th, both 5 seconds behind Bardet. Meanwhile, Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan) and the sprinter Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) arrived more than 15 minutes behind.
The opening day of the ‘Grand Bouclé’ took place on undulating terrain, where the riders faced seven categorized climbs along the way. In the early stages, several riders were on the move until an eight-rider breakaway was formed.
The first breakaway of the French round was led by Matej Mohoric (Bahrain – Victorious), Ryan Gibbons (Lidl – Trek), Frank van den Broek (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Valentin Madouas (Groupama – FDJ), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) and Clément Champoussin (Arkéa – B&B Hotels), but entering the mountain stage the breakaway disintegrated.
In the closing stages, Frenchman Romain Bardet jumped out of the group of favorites and caught his teammate, Dutchman Frank van den Broek. The Team dsm-firmenich PostNL duo worked together and fought a spectacular battle with the reduced peloton, which they eventually won.
The Grand Bouclé will continue this Sunday with the second stage, 199 kilometers long, starting in Cesenatico and finishing in Bologna, another undulating day on Italian territory, which includes six categorized mountain passes.
Tour de France (2.UWT)
Results Stage 1 | Firenze – Rimini (206 km)
| 1 | Romain Bardet | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 5:07:22 |
| 2 | Frank van den Broek | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | ,, |
| 3 | Wout van Aert | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:05 |
| 4 | Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates | ,, |
| 5 | Maxim Van Gils | Lotto Dstny | ,, |
| 6 | Alex Aranburu | Movistar Team | ,, |
| 7 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal Quick-Step | ,, |
| 9 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 10 | Alberto Bettiol | EF Education – EasyPost | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Romain Bardet | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 5:07:12 |
| 2 | Frank van den Broek | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 0:04 |
| 3 | Wout van Aert | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:11 |
| 4 | Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates | 0:15 |
| 5 | Maxim Van Gils | Lotto Dstny | ,, |
| 6 | Alex Aranburu | Movistar Team | ,, |
| 7 | Mads Pedeersen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal Quick-Step | ,, |
| 9 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 10 | Alberto Bettiol | EF Education – EasyPost | ,, |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico