Eight weeks after the primary Grande Partenza of the season, the second is upon us as Italy performs host to the beginning of the yr’s second Grand Tour.
Following the opening of the Giro d’Italia in Piedmont, the peloton has headed to Tuscany for the primary stage of the Tour de France, Saturday’s hilly 206km cross-country run over the Apennines from Florence to Rimini.
As was the case on the Giro, the opener right here is one suited to the puncheurs and GC contenders, this time with seven labeled climbs packed into the route and a flat 15km run to the road within the seaside resort city.
Before the winner of the stage and thus, the primary chief of the 2024 Tour, is determined, there’s the matter of the polka dot jersey. A most of 23 factors on supply hand a hefty reward to the inaugural breakaway of the race, although the battle over the early lead in that competitors ought to function an aperitivo to what unfolds later.
Rimini, located by the Adriatic Sea as a gateway to the pan-flat Po Valley, might not have any star racers to shout about in distinction to the well-known Florentine Gino Bartali. And regardless of the sprint-friendly, native geography (Arnaud Démare received a Giro stage there 4 years in the past), it is probably a rider with talents nearer to the Giro- and Tour-winning Bartali than the Frenchman will increase their arms in victory on Saturday afternoon.
The sprinters, the GC males and the puncheurs
But who? The lead-in to the beginning of this yr’s Tour has been seemingly marked extra by pessimism and warning from the peloton’s massive names, somewhat than any grand proclamations about their ambitions.
With so many climbs mendacity in wait on the opening day, together with three contained in the closing 50km, the consensus is that pure sprinters together with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), and Fabio Jakobsen (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) have nearly no probability of success. Reigning inexperienced jersey winner Philipsen’s proclamation on Thursday that he may “begin with none stress” cemented that.
Even the hopes of these extra versatile contenders – suppose Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike), and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) – are borderline. Van Aert, who has solely logged a handful of race days since crashing out of the spring Classics, has already performed down his probabilities, saying, “I’ve by no means began the Tour de France in such poor kind.”
His everlasting rival Van der Poel in contrast the opening two phases with the identical days ultimately yr’s race, saying “it appears to be like prefer it’ll be a bit too arduous once more” and including that “it is dependent upon… what different groups wish to do.”
He famous that there’ll probably solely be a couple of probabilities for him to style private success this Tour, with even the “simpler phases” logging over 3,000 metres of climbing. The quantity on stage 1? 3,800…
Pedersen was upbeat at Lidl-Trek’s pre-race press occasion earlier within the day, although even his statements had been cloaked in warning, his probabilities additionally on the mercy of different groups. Well, one particularly.
“I do know it’s going to be on the restrict if not over the restrict, so all the pieces has to play in our favour, however it additionally could be silly simply to take a seat up on the backside and say ‘OK, I can not make it’,” he stated.
“If I’ve to do a consequence, then it actually is dependent upon how all of the groups wish to race the final climb. So, it is open, it is of their palms if I’ll make it or not. Especially UAE – in the event that they wish to win already on day one, and in the event that they go full from the underside to the highest, then I do not know – I’m not going to outlive.”
Unsurprisingly, all eyes are on UAE Team Emirates heading into stage 1. The dash specialists might not survive to contest the end just because they don’t seem to be suited to the stage whereas reigning race champion Jonas Vingegaard’s first day again within the saddle may nicely predict his potential to as soon as once more problem for the yellow jersey.
“Everything from here’s a bonus,” he stated on Thursday. “We may need to combat to hold on early within the race after which later within the race, we’ll discover our regular degree. We’ll discover out within the coming days.”
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) – general and stage winners on the Critérium du Dauphiné earlier this month – are additional names to look at, even when each confirmed indicators of weak spot on the warm-up race.
That brings us to Tadej Pogačar, then, the person with the strongest help squad within the race, the person who dominated the Giro a month in the past, and who – a reportedly very gentle COVID-19 an infection apart – has suffered no blips or setbacks in his Tour preparation.
He and his UAE Team Emirates squad reconned the stage earlier this week and onlookers are already anticipating him to attempt to put distance between himself and a rusty Vingegaard as quickly as potential.
There are different names within the body, in fact, however ideas of an opening-day battle royale between the largest GC names on the beginning line are arduous to withstand. Beyond the ‘massive 4’, it is names akin to Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), and Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) who spring to thoughts.
Elsewhere, a raft of puncheurs are within the body, be it from the breakaway or from one of many myriad assaults which is able to fly over these late hills. Look out for established names who’ve quite a few Tour stage wins on their cumulative palmarès together with Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-SimplePost).
Others to look at embrace Israel-Premier Tech’s pairing, La Flèche Wallonne winner Stephen Williams and Dauphiné podium sitter Derek Gee, one of many breakthrough males of the yr in Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Arkéa-B&B Hotels promise Kévin Vauquelin, and newly topped Spanish champion Alex Aranburu (Movistar).
The route
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That crop of GC males, outsiders, puncheurs, and hopefuls could have loads to grapple with in addition to the searing accelerations of their rivals – and heat temperatures of as much as 30°C – on stage 1.
The opening stage of the Tour is as akin to a serious one-day Classic as another day of racing, with its 3,800 metres of climbing sitting between Strade Bianche (3,670) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (4,270). It’s removed from a easy begin to the Tour, and it is no shock that the race’s sprinters have already largely written off their possibilities of success.
The flat begin to the race will take the peloton from the Parco delle Cascine alongside the River Arno, previous the historic sights of central Florence and throughout the well-known Ponte Vecchio, a part of a flat 30km run in direction of the primary climb of the day.
The second-category Col de Valico Tre Faggi (12.5km at 5.1%) is the day’s first problem, peaking at 930 metres after 49.7km. A 25km descent into the area of Emilia-Romagna brings the race to climb quantity two, the third-category Côte des Forche (2.5km at 6.2%) and the intermediate dash at Santa Sofia shortly afterwards.
The second-longest climb of the day is up subsequent within the type of the third-category Côte de Carnaio (10.5km at 4.6%) earlier than one other lengthy descent – this time 30km – to a different second-category check within the Côte de Barbotto (5.8km at 7.6%).
From there, the riders move into the province of Rimini and the ultimate 60km, the place the second-category Côte de San Leo (4.6km at 7.7%) and third-category Côte de Montemaggio (4.2km at 6.6%) lie in wait.
The day’s ultimate climb, coming by way of a brief tour via the enclave micronation of San Marino, is the aptly named Côte de San Marino (7.1km at 4.8%).
The gradients aren’t the steepest of the day, and the climb is not the longest, however with loads of climbing already within the legs, that is the place the stage 1 winner and first yellow jersey of the 2024 Tour could be determined, although a 10km descent and 15km flat run to Rimini lie forward.
Stage 1 Sprints
- Intermediate dash, km 86.6
Stage 1 Mountains
- Col de Valico Tre Faggi (12.5km at 5.1%), cat. 2, km 49.7
- Côte des Forche (2.5km at 6.2%), cat. 3, km 77.8
- Côte de Carnaio (10.5km at 4.6%), cat. 3, km 98.3
- Côte de Barbotto (5.8km at 7.6%), cat. 2, km 135.6
- Côte de San Leo (4.6km at 7.7%), cat. 2, km 157.3
- Côte de Montemaggio (4.2km at 6.6%), cat. 3, km 167.1
- Côte de San Marino (7.1km at 4.8%), cat. 3, km 179.7