Cycling: The wait is finally over. The 106th Tour de France starts tomorrow in Brussels. Despite an expected mass sprint, things get straight to the point. Among other things, the legendary wall of Geraardsbergen - known from the Tour of Flanders - must be conquered. Who secures the mountain jersey? And who gets to put on the yellow jersey first?
The escapees mainly fight for the mountain jersey
The 194,5 Tour de France begins in Belgium with a 2019-kilometer stage. With Start and finish in Brussels the drivers are guided through Charleroi and a relatively flat course. Although the breakaways probably don't have a realistic chance of winning the day, some pros want to be part of the breakaway group tomorrow. Because the Wall of Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg - known from the Ronde van Vlaanderen - decide on the first wearer of the mountain jersey. Of course, the focus on his 100th birthday is still the yellow jersey. Since the stage is mostly flat despite a few slipways, it would be anything but a classic one mass sprint a big surprise to start with.
Tour de France Stage #1: Key Moments & Key Dates
- Wall of Geraardsbergen (Mountain classification of the 3rd category / 1,2 km at 7,8% / 151,0 km +)
- Bosberg (Mountain classification of the 4rd category / 1,0 km at 6,7% / 147,0 km +)
- Sector de Thimeon (Cobblestone / 1.900 m / 76,5 km +)
- The Good Villers (Sprint rating / 69,5 km +)
Velomotion prognosis: Groenewegen exchanges yellow for yellow
Probably some attacks will be ridden tomorrow on the first stage of the Tour de France directly after the starting gun. We can be sure that all wildcard teams want to be immediately present in the first breakaway group. Even those teams that don't have any sprinters or classification drivers in their own ranks will use the Conquest of the mountain jersey strive for a first success. It is quite possible that the dotted jersey will be worn first by a classic hunter instead of a climber. After that, however, the fun is over and the sprinter teams will collect the escapees again and the first one Sprint Royal prepare. A classic sprinter cheers in Brussels. we see in Dylan Groenewegen currently the best sprinter in the world. He deserves to swap his Jumbo – Visma yellow jersey for the Tour de France yellow jersey.
☆☆☆ Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo – Visma)
* * Caleb Ewan (Lotto - Soudal), Elia Viviani (Deceuninck - Quick-Step)
* Peter Sagan (Bora - hansgrohe), Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton - Scott)
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