photo credits @ ASO
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) claimed the opening stage of the Tour de France in Bilbao today, overpowering his brother Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) during the closing meters after the duo escaped along the descent of the Pike with 9 kilometers remaining.
Meanwhile, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) won the sprint for third place, celebrating his teammate’s stage win with his arms aloft, who also earned himself the first yellow jersey.
The rugged terrain of the Alto del Vivero whittled the peloton down to a breathless finale, with a crash on the descent forcing Enric Mas (Movistar) out of the Tour, while Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) saw his hopes for a high overall finish vanquished.
The stage ignited on the Pike, where Adam Yates set a brisk tempo for Pogacar that only Vingegaard and Victor Lafay (Cofidis) could follow. From there, Pogacar lead Vingegaard across the summit, while the rest of the race scrambled to get back ion terms.
The Yates brothers later seized the opportunity to forge clear along the descent, opening a gap of 10 seconds or so along the way to Bilbao.
Race Highlights
Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Simon Guglielmi (Arkea-Samsic), Pascal Eenkhorn (Lotto-Dstny), Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X) and Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) marked the day’s first breakaway effort, with Gregaard later attacking along the summit of the first categorized climb.
Eenkhorn was later the first rider to crest the climb of San Juan de Gaztelugatxae ahead of Guglielmi, taking over the lead in the KOM points, while subsequently winning the intermediate sprint at Guernica as well.
The escapees came close to being reined in with 75 kilometers to go, but Guglielmi and Gregaard upped the pace, quickly extending the group’s lead back out to 30 seconds.
Back in the peloton, a number of sprinters like Mark Cavendish, Alexander Kristoff, Caleb Ewan, Peter Sagan, Dylan Groenewegen and Fabio Jakobsen got dropped along the climb to Murga, with Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) cresting the Alto del Vivero ahead of Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), earning him the first polka dot jersey of this year’s French Grand Tour.
In the meantime, Lafay was the only rider able to accompany Pogacar and Vingegaard along the Pike. But, the Yates brothers managed to regroup before the summit, later opening up an advantage along the descent that held during the last 8 kilometers to see the Britons cross the finish with a buffer of just 15 seconds.
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