Tour de France start – Kristoff wins the slide in Nice in speed sport

• Alexander Kristoff wins the 1st stage of the Tour de France starting and finishing in Nice and secures the lead in the general classification and by points.
• With Thibaut Pinot, a co-favorite fell in the general classification shortly before the end. The French are wasting no time. The other favorites also arrive without wasting time.
• Michael Schär travels in an escape group for a long time and is named the most combative driver of the day.
• Sunday will be more difficult for sprinters: the first mountain stage begins.

As expected, Stage 1 of the 107 Tour de France was for a sprinter. Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) was the strongest rider in the final sprint and prevailed relatively clearly ahead of Danish Mads Pedersen and Dutchman Cees Bol. For Kristoff it was the fourth stage win at the “Grand Boucle” . Peter Sagan, one of the top favorites to win the day, had to settle for fifth place.

Numerous falls

Due to the heavy rain, there were many falls all over the stage. For example, Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe fell, but was able to make his way back to the peloton.

Another strong Frenchman fell shortly before the finish line: Thibaut Pinot was involved in a massive crash, but wasted no time in the overall standings. In the event of a fall or defect in the last 3 kilometers, the runners involved will be scored with the same time as the group to which they belonged at the time of the fall.

Most combative driver

The most outstanding of the 4 Swiss who left was Michael Schär from Team CCC. The 33-year-old went on the attack after a few kilometers and escaped from the field with 2 Frenchmen. The Lucerne man secured points in the intermediate sprint and in the last mountain classification. The racing jury recognized Schär as the most combative rider of the day, which means he can wear the red number on Sunday. The rest of the Swiss crossed the finish line without wasting time.

So it goes

On Sunday, the start and finish of the stage are again in Nice. For sprinters, however, the stage will already be a challenge, because the pilots have to demonstrate their climbing skills for the first time.