Featured image courtesy of Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
The Grand Départ in Demark has been a truly magnificent spectacle, a celebration of all that is good in both cycling and life. Unfortunately this has been marred by tragedy in Copenhagen – three people killed and another four injured by a gunman at a shopping mall. I wish all those affected well and I hope that the capital can heal.
Shocking news like this does bring life into sharp focus, equally so with a beautiful tribute to Chris Anker Sørensen, Danish to his core, sadly killed in a collision with a driver in Flanders last year just ahead of the Road World Championships. It’s a shame that he didn’t get to see and be part of the incredible atmosphere Denmark generated for the first three days of this year’s Tour de France.
At a time of writing this, it is a transfer/rest day for the riders to allow them to get back to France, so it feels fitting to look at who the winners and losers are so far, but do note that there are not enough words for me to write in either category.
Below are some of the most important points from my perspective.
The Losers
It isn’t nice to dwell too much on this side of things, which is why I’ve gone for this upfront to get it out of the way.
First up, Filippo Ganna, who was touted as heir apparent for the first yellow jersey of this Tour. His time-trailing prowess is well-known because he’s world champion, but on the opening Copenhagen time trial, Ganna was hampered by a course that wasn’t 100% in accordance to his strengths – the weather Gods not kind and a reported puncture messed things up on his Tour debut.
If Ganna had won, then it probably would have been the maillot jaune for quite a while during the first week. Disappointment will hurt, but there is a chance later in the Tour for the Italian to take stages, either on the road, or maybe the final time-trial one day before Paris on Stage 20.
Secondly, the team of B&B Hotels p/b KTM, who had two men in a breakaway of four on Stage 2 but both managed to get dropped when they were hoping to sneak King of the Mountains points. Early coverage for the team done, both Frenchmen Pierre Rolland and Cyril Barthe then had to ride in a hiding to nothing once dropped. I would say that B&B Hotel’s efforts were pointless, but they’ve got me talking about them despite a blunder which could be compared to a 4-D chess level marketing move!
EF Education-EasyPost, in the lead-up to the Tour, were talked about because of their squad announcement (or lack of), as well as their special jersey and it’s tribute to women. I’m not quite sure how visible the tribute is, but their opening stage TT didn’t go to plan with Stefan Bissegger getting rather too acquainted with the tarmac after crashing twice.
EF also saw their GC hopeful Rigoberto Urán crash on the impressive 18km-long Storebæltsbroen (Great Belt Bridge). Stage 2 to Nyborg was picturesque for the very sight of the bridge, but for Urán and his team it wasn’t so rosy. He tried to use the convoy to get himself back in the peloton but the commissaires (race jury) decided there’ll be none of that thanks!
Luckily, Urán managed to get back into the lead group through grit and determination against a block headwind. The Colombian is probably not expected to be in contention for a podium place but starting on the deck was less than ideal.
The winners
Stage winners are obviously huge winners by definition, but each of them was special in their own way, particularly Yves Lampaert, son of a farmer, with his UCI-restriction defying socks, taking a shock victory in the opening time trial.
To make things better from a Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl point of view, Fabio Jakobsen won the first bunch sprint on debut to complete a personal story. From the pain of Poland to the grandest comeback, after a horror crash two years ago, it’s undeniable that after a setback, Jakobsen deserved the win. He also put paid to talks of Quick-Step making a mistake in taking him to the Tour instead of Mark Cavendish. Two stages won out of three in Denmark for Patrick Lefevere’s Wolfpack, it’s another success for the Belgian team.
Dylan Groenewegen was the other winner on Stage 3 from Vejle to Sønderborg, just one day after Jakobsen, which feels oddly fitting given his involvement in Jakobsen’s crash at the Tour de Pologne. Two Dutch sprinters battling it out, one win for each – expect plenty more to come (if they get over the mountains!)
As much as stage winners are lauded, the real MVP from the Grand Départ has to be Magnus Cort Nielsen getting into the break two days in a row and scoring every single KOM point on offer. Stage 2 saw him in a breakaway of four alongside experienced companions sharing the largely futile act of being in an early-race breakaway.
On Stage 3 however, Nielsen attacked and nobody came with him. With the Danish crowd behind him, the ‘home boy’ seemed to enjoy every second and there’s something quite remarkable about going solo into a break on your home roads, on the biggest race in the calendar. Celebrating the polka-dot jersey points as if he was crossing the finish line on the Champs-Élysées in yellow – we love to see it!
A quick update on where we stand in the general classification.
Early days in the race for yellow but heading back to France, Tadej Pogačar is in the “box seat” because he’s only eight seconds behind Wout Van Aert and is the best-placed of all the contenders. The twin threat of Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič are close by, again just eight and nine seconds behind Pogačar.
The INEOS Grenadiers have had a decent start with Adam Yates at 24 seconds (although he may be more of a domestique/stage hunter), Geraint Thomas at 26 seconds and Tom Pidcock tenth at 31 seconds, Aleksandr Vlasov, Neilson Powless, Nairo Quintana and Enric Mas are four names to keep an eye on inside the top-30, where some of them might be targeting the GC but at this point they’re at 49, 50 and 57 seconds behind overall.
After three stages with Roubaix cobbles, uphill finishes and La Planche des Belles Filles on its way, it already feels like a massive chasm of a time gap to the leading trio of Pogačar, Vingegaard and Roglič.
Here’s the top-ten after three stages:
1 – Wout Van Aert (Belgium, JUMBO-VISMA) @ 9hrs 01min 17secs
2 – Yves Lampaert (Belgium, QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL) +07secs
3 – Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia, UAE-TEAM EMIRATES) +14secs
4 – Mads Pedersen (Denmark, TREK-SEGAFREDO) +18secs
5 – Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands, ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) +20secs
6 – Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark, JUMBO-VISMA) +22secs
7 – Primož Roglič (Slovenia, JUMBO-VISMA) +23secs
8 – Adam Yates (Great Britain, INEOS GRENADIERS) +30secs
9 – Stefan Küng (Switzerland, GROUPAMA-FDJ) +30secs
10 – Tom Pidcock (Great Britain, INEOS GRENADIERS) +31secs
From the team presentation to every kilometre of roadside, the Danish fans were out in force and created a level of noise that I’ve never heard before, and likely never will again. Vociferous in their support and providing a brilliant soundtrack to the Tour – it has been a brilliant three days.
The racing wasn’t too exciting, but opening stages don’t tend to be; the fans however made it feel a step above the Grande Partenza we saw from Hungary at the Giro d’Italia last May. That start to a Grand Tour felt humdrum at the time and now feels even worse in comparison to the Tour de France.
Tak Danmark!
