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Alexander Kristoff of Norway became the first yellow jersey wearer in this year’s Tour de France after a chaotic opening stage in Nice was partially neutralized when nearly every cyclist in the peloton was involved in an accident at one point or another. other.
Veteran sprinter Kristoff emerged from the melee and another major accident in the final three kilometers, to hold off reigning world road racing champion Mads Pedersen of Denmark and claim stage victory and the overall lead of the race.
“You can’t dream of a better start,” Kristoff said. “We have a team of climbers and we didn’t think about winning the sprints, at least not so soon, but I felt very strong in the final kilometers and when I reached the finish, I saw that I was going to win. It was an amazing feeling. I am very proud of what I was able to do. “
Despite his successes in previous sprints, Kristoff had not been one of those aiming for victory, but in treacherous and chaotic conditions his experience came to the fore. “My participation in the Tour had not been very good and I had no results to show. I fell in the European Championship, but today it didn’t affect me, ”he said. “I’m very happy, it means a lot to my career.”
But on a steamy afternoon, the 33-year-old was one of the few riders to smile as he crossed the line. The first 186km stage that wound through the hills north of Nice was marked by crashes, arguments and injuries, as torrential rains on the Côte d’Azur made the stage dangerous and ridiculous.
As the downpour turned the steep inland roads into a skid, countless riders lamented, including Team Ineos Grenadiers’ Pavel Sivakov, who is one of the main supporters of defending champion Egan Bernal, and his teammate, Andrey. Amador.
The chaos was enough to force a truce in the peloton, orchestrated by the Jumbo-Visma team of race favorite Primoz Roglic. Speed slowed to touring pace as the racing convoy cautiously descended towards the Mediterranean coast, before an expected final sprint on the Promenade des Anglais.
But when the neutralization was agreed, most of the damage had come from multiple crashes, both on the slippery, narrow downgrades into the city and on urban streets, leaving some cyclists bloodied and mangled after less than two hours of running. .
Subsequently, more crashes ensued over former stage winner Caleb Ewan, French favorite Thibaut Pinot and two-time Grand Tour winner Nairo Quintana. Pinot was among those delayed by the massive crash just as the race entered the final three kilometers, but appeared relatively unscathed as he pedaled, thunder-faced, across the finish line.
But there was more controversy on Saturday morning, when Tour director Christian Prudhomme confirmed that the French government had forced a U-turn on the proposed relaxation of the ‘two strikes and you’re out’ Covid testing regime. -19 which was announced before the racing convoy assembled in Nice.
On Friday, the UCI issued a statement in which it was inferred that the rule requiring teams to withdraw from the Tour if they had two positive Covid-19 tests among their entourage within the space of a week would only apply to testing. runners, not support staff.
However, that proved short-lived and, in the early hours of Saturday morning, the French government’s anti-pandemic task force had ordered that the Tour exclusion protocols be reinstated to apply to all riders and riders. the staff, within the entourage of a team.
“We are left with [a policy of] two cases involving 30 people on the same team over a seven-day period, ”Prudhomme said, before explaining that the decision was not made by the race organization, but by the French government.
That sparked speculation that Lotto Soudal and his Australian sprinter Ewan would be sent home as two staff members had failed mandatory Covid tests before the race. The two staff members and their roommates left the Tour, but the Belgian team started the first leg nonetheless.
Chris Froome, the four-time winner not selected by the Ineos Grenadiers, acknowledged that he is now turning his attention to the Vuelta a España that starts on October 20, seeing a stage so brutal that it would surely have made him shudder.
“I was willing to help Egan and help the guys try to win another yellow jersey, but it made more sense to take this extra time to prepare for the Vuelta,” Froome said on ITV. “I am mentally prepared for it. The Vuelta beats the other Tours in brutal uphill finishes ”.
Fortunately, the sun on the Côte d’Azur is expected to return for the second stage on Sunday. However, Kristoff’s race leadership is not expected to survive the 186-kilometer route through the Alpes-Maritimes, which includes two top-notch climbs before another finish on the Promenade des Anglais.
