Romain Bardet, a 33-year-old veteran from France, emerged victorious in the opening stage of the 111th Tour de France. He triumphed in the 206-kilometer race from Florence to Rimini on Saturday, finishing just ahead of his teammate Frank van den Broek from the Netherlands. Both riders were part of a breakaway group and crossed the finish line a few seconds ahead of the main field, with Belgian Wout van Aert coming in third. This marked Bardet’s fourth Tour victory, propelling him into the yellow jersey as the overall leader.
Despite the challenging course and extreme heat, Bardet and his competitors pushed through the grueling race. The sprint star Mark Cavendish, aged 39, fell behind early in the race and struggled with most of the climbs, risking falling out of the time limit with a significant gap to the leaders. The top favorites, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, did not engage in a major exchange of blows in this stage.
On the second day of the tour, the riders will begin the race in Cesenatico, the birthplace of Tour de France winner Marco Pantani who passed away in 2004. The stage will conclude in Bologna after 199.2 kilometers and include challenging climbs. A versatile breakaway rider may have a chance to win the stage, and it could be the first opportunity for the top contenders to showcase their strengths.