cycling. The Tour de France is only two days old, but a lot has already happened. With Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and Richie Porte (BMC) two favorites on the 2st stage already accept loss of time. Does that mean the Tour de France 2016 is already over for the two co-favourites?
Alberto Contador falls and injures his shoulder
The saying that you can't win the Tour de France in the first week but you can lose it is as old as it is true. This year, too, this seems to be confirmed for two co-favourites. Although the 1st stage over 188 km from Mont-Saint-Michel to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont was almost flat, it was to have serious consequences for Alberto Contador. The Spaniard fell in a right-hand bend and injured his shoulder. Although his teammates were able to lead him back into the peloton without any problems, Alberto Contador's pained face made the spectators suspect. He wasted no time and did not go to a hospital after the race, but the situation was to get even worse the following day.
Bad timing for Richie Porte's mishap
On 2st stage From Saint-Lô to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the 198 riders who started had to cover 183 km. Although the last three kilometers of the day were uphill, the pundits before the start of the race did not expect that the classification riders would take time from each other. Still, there were two clear losers at the end of the day. With Jasper Stuyven five kilometers to go with more than a minute remaining as a soloist in the lead, stage chaser Greg Van Avermaet's Team BMC sought a merger. But suddenly the red and black men disappeared from the lead of the peloton. The reason: Their captain, Richie Porte, had a breakdown and had to be helped by the neutral escort vehicle on the side of the road. However, without BMC at the front of the field, the pace didn't slow down at all and so the Australian naturally couldn't catch up.
Alberto Contador and Richie Porte lose valuable time
The last three kilometers of yesterday's stage were very hectic. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) was pulled up the mountain by noble helper Roman Kreuziger and soloist Jasper Stuyven was actually provided. The fact that the sprint was about winning the day didn't get through to Peter Sagan. The world champion assumed that two or three riders would have reached the finish before him. That's why he didn't celebrate after crossing the finish line, although with this win he was able to win the yellow jersey for the first time in his career. For that annoyed in the background Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx Quick Step). After Marcel Kittel had already finished second on the first stage, an Etixx-Quick Step rider was only just behind the next day. However, it was much worse for Alberto Contador and Richie Porte. After his breakdown, Porte lost a whopping 1:1 minutes to the day's winner. Alberto Contador fell again on the stage, losing 45 seconds at the end.
Questionable team tactics at BMC and Tinkoff
The loss of time for Alberto Contador was particularly bitter. While Roman Kreuziger kept up the pace for Peter Sagan at the head of the peloton, the Spaniard lost contact. As a spectator, you can certainly ask yourself what instructions the team bosses gave in this situation. Either Contador signaled after his second fall that he had already shelved the tour win and that one can now fully sacrifice oneself for Peter Sagan's stage win, or it was simply a misunderstanding. In any case, 48 seconds does not come about in just a few meters. At the latest when Contador had to be demolished, Kreuziger should have theoretically reacted. Despite all the bad luck, Team BMC also made an unfortunate impression. After Richie Porte's breakdown, the lead was abruptly withdrawn, but many helpers could no longer be made available for the Australian. Minutes after the breakdown, he was driving alone in the wind and trying to limit the damage himself. It's understandable that Greg Van Avermaet and Tejay Van Garderen didn't fall behind, but alongside these two co-captains there were other BMC riders in the peloton at the time. Damiano Caruso finally rushed to Porte's aid, but they ended up 1:45 behind.
Other minor losers alongside Alberto Contador and Richie Porte
In the overall standings, after the first two stages, only 26 riders are within 14 seconds. Among others, Mathias Frank (IAM), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) also lost valuable time. On the 3st stage Over 223,5 km from Granville to Angers, a rather calm race is to be expected, at least up to the right-hand bend 300 meters before the finish. Loss of time can of course never be ruled out. Because who would have thought that two co-favorites would get caught on the first two stages? Of course, the Tour de France is not yet lost for those affected, but Alberto Contador's injury seems to be very painful and Richie Porte is unlikely to match the 1:45 minutes on Chris Froome (Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) can catch up in the mountains. Perhaps that's why we're seeing more active racing in the mountains, as some top climbers are forced to take every opportunity to attack.
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