Christopher Fillocque with AFP // Photo credit: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP
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6:19 p.m., June 29, 2024
Romain Bardet wins the first stage of the Tour de France 2024 in Rimini and at the same time, he takes the yellow jersey. The DSM climber won in front of his teammate Frank van den Broek, with only five seconds ahead of the group of favorites who failed to catch up with the two fugitives.
Romain Bardet won the first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday in Rimini, where the Frenchman donned his first yellow jersey after an extraordinary performance. Having broken away from the peloton with 50 kilometres to go, the DSM climber won ahead of his team-mate Frank van den Broek, with just five seconds ahead of the group of favourites who were unable to catch the two escapees.
Fourth Tour victory for the Auvergnat
In a finale of breathtaking suspense, the two DSM runners resisted the return of the pack and the young Dutchman offered victory to his leader at the end of a scorching day which turned into an ordeal for many runners , except for the main favorites. This is the fourth victory in the Tour for the 33-year-old from Auvergne who finished second in the general classification in 2016 and second the following year but had never before worn the yellow jersey.
This year he is competing in his last Grand Boucle after announcing a few days ago that he would be hanging up his boots in June 2025. In this very tough stage, run in scorching heat, Bardet and Van den Broek put on a fantastic double act. Present since the start of the day in the breakaway that also included Frenchman Valentin Madouas, the young Dutchman, 23, first waited for his leader when the latter pulled away from the peloton to swallow up the escapees one by one.
He then pulled huge relays to take him into the long flat part in the finale towards Rimini, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. And resist the return of the peloton in the traditional game of cat and mouse which often ends badly for the escapees.