[ritchiebaby]

Now that the Euros are effectively over for me, here is the latest news from La Belle France.

https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route should tell you everything you need to know. Just about back to normal for Le Tour, with the notable exception of rigorous Covid requirements - although these do not mention the riders much, presumably in their own bubbles (try telling the mountain stage spectators!). The first week will see no serious mountain stages, then moving into the Alps in week two and the Pyrenees in week 3, followed by the Paris procession.

As usual, I will throw a few names into the hat for the various categories.
GC - Primoz Roglic (having learned from last year's last racing day collapse), with Pogacar, Porte, Alaphilippe and Uran all making their mark.
Points - Caleb Ewan with Peter Sagan impossible to ignore and Van Aert and Demare also serious challengers, even Cavendish on his day.
Mountains - Tajed Pogacar will be my favourite, but Carapaz, Porte, Roglic and Geoghan Hart should not be too far away.

Also as usual, my viewing time will be limited, but I'll try to give regular updates. You're all welcome to join me as often or as little as you like.

[ritchiebaby]

Tomorrow's first stage will leave Brest in Brittany in what is described as a hilly 197.8km stage - certainly more molehill than mountain, but molehills have steep sides and one of these could catch someone out, especially right at the end. I'm not expecting anything too dramatic with the main contenders, but as the course follows the line of a drunken man leaving the pub by the back door for a fag, getting lost and coming back in the front door, he could be bothered by the wind. It will come in to the peloton from all sides during the stage and could lead to a lot of stretching out by some of the riders, who will have to expend a lot of energy to get back into a good position.

Sunday's second stage will follow roughly the same terrain from Perros-Guirec with a tricky steep finish, but will be roughly North-west to South-east in direction following a gentle curve on the map.

As usual, the race is comprehensively covered by ITV4 with daily live coverage and highlight programmes. It starts on Saturday at 10.45am with highlights at 7.00pm. For those interested there is a shorter version of each stage for women called La Course which is also televised live on ITV4 at 9.00am with highlights at 8.00pm.

[themaclad]

Hopefully no falling off near Taunton

[ritchiebaby]

Is that Graeme Garden? Or is it you, mac?

[themaclad]

Palin, me can't ride a bike never learnt

[ritchiebaby]

Ahhh! I thought it might have been the time The Goodies won the Tour de France.

Although I've not seen any ITV4 coverage of today's stage, I gather that a placard-wielding cretin interfered with the safety of the riders. Regular readers will know of my strong views on the dangerous behaviour of many of the spectators, so I will say no more. Julian Alaphilippe won the stage with a strong finish, but there's a long, long way to go yet.

I'll once again draw your attention to the winner's time of 4h39m13s and compare it to our pampered footballers who complain about 90 minutes of football thrice a week. And pity Marc Soler, the poor bloke at the back, who spent over 5 hours in the saddle.

[themaclad]

Julian Alaphilippe sprang a superb late attack to win stage one of the Tour de France after two huge crashes in the closing stages.

The 2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic, and Britain's Chris Froome were among those to fall in two separate incidents in the final 45km.

In the first, a fan holding a placard sparked the first mass pile-up - with organisers ASO saying they will now sue as a result.

Froome's crash came 8km from the end.

He was among the worst affected when more than 50 riders came to grief, the four-time Tour winner gingerly getting back on his saddle and crossing the line over 14 minutes down.

His Israel Start Up Nation team later confirmed that scans showed no fractures, but an update on whether he would continue in the race would come on Sunday.

The 197.8km run from Brest to Landerneau had been uneventful until the crashes. Both caused severe disruptions to the race, the first coming when Jumbo-Visma's German rider Tony Martin was sent tumbling near the front of the main bunch, causing chaos behind him with riders and bikes strewn across the asphalt.

Riders after crashing with 45km to go
The majority of the 184 riders in the peloton were affected by both crashes
It took almost a full 25 kilometres for a bloodied and bruised peloton to fully regroup, with DSM's German rider Jasha Sutterlin becoming the first to abandon the race.

"We are suing this woman who behaved so badly," Tour deputy director Pierre-Yves Thouault told reporters, before being confirmed to BBC Sport by organisers ASO.

"We are doing this so that the tiny minority of people who do this don't spoil the show for everyone," he added.

Overall contenders Tao Geoghegan Hart of Britain, as well as Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, were among the riders to be held up before a second crash, this time at high-speed, on a descent before the climb up the Fosse-aux-Loups, ripped through the peloton again.

Tour de France
It was also hardly an ideal opening day for Ineos Grenadiers, with Richie Porte losing over two minutes and Geoghegan Hart, conceding more than five - a situation which may necessitate a change in tactics later in the race.

The bright spot for the British team came via Geraint Thomas, who looked impressive on the final climb, steering clear of trouble to finish eight seconds behind Alaphilippe.

'It's a really special victory'
While the chaos was still unfolding behind him Alaphilippe distanced his rivals with a devastating solo attack 2.3km from the line.

He had been expected to face stiff competition from Mathieu van der Poel and both Roglic and Tadej Pogacar mounted unsuccessful chases to reel the Frenchman in.

Neither came close to catching him and it ensured France's first opening stage winner since Christophe Moreau in Dunkirk in 2001 and a sixth stage win at the Tour for the 29-year-old who will now wear the yellow jersey for a third consecutive year.

"It's a really special victory for me. I'm changing jerseys but there are worse jerseys to wear," Alaphilippe said.

"It's a scenario I imagined and I really wanted to do it - it's really super.

"My team did a great job and controlled it all day. At the end I was caught in a crash but we got back and I really had to make the last climb. I had to get rid of the sprinters, it wasn't easy but I gave my best and that was it."

Stage one results

1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 4hrs 39mins 05secs

2. Michael Matthews (Aus/Team BikeExchange +8secs

3. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) Same time

4. Jack Haig (Aus/Bahrain-Victorious)

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe)

6. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Team Emirates)

7. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)

8. Sergio Higuita (Col/EF Education-Nippo)

9. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Trek-Segafredo)

10. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers)

General classification after stage one

1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 4hrs 38mins 55secs

2. Michael Matthews (Aus/Team BikeExchange +12secs

3. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +14secs

4. Jack Haig (Aus/Bahrain-Victorious) +18secs

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe) Same time

6. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Team Emirates)

7. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)

8. Sergio Higuita (Col/EF Education-Nippo)

9. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Trek-Segafredo)

10. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers)




Avoid Frogs wearing yellow coats holding signs

[themaclad]

And it was a woman the prosecution rests it’s case

[themaclad]

Van der Poel get the feeling this is going to be a classic three weeks
Brittany is one fantastic area

[themaclad]

Mathieu van der Poel produced two devastating attacks to win stage two of the Tour de France and claim the yellow jersey.

The Dutch rider twice powered clear on the double ascent of the Mur-de-Bretagne in a thrilling finale.

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar and 2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic, were second and third on the 183.5km route.

As he crossed the line, Van der Poel pointed to the sky in tribute to his late grandfather, Raymond Poulidor.

'I just imagine how proud my grandad would be'
Tour great Poulidor earned the nickname the 'eternal second', having finished second three times and third five times and remarkably never once wearing the yellow jersey in 14 years of racing the event.

"It means the world to have this jersey on my shoulders," said Van der Poel

"Unfortunately, he is not here anymore but I just imagine how proud my grandad would be. I gambled a little bit, I played everything I've got because I knew I needed the bonus seconds if I wanted the jersey.

"It was also my last chance to get the yellow jersey, it's incredible."

Van der Poel, 26, riding on only his second day on the Tour, takes the yellow jersey from Julian Alaphilippe, who won Saturday's crash-affected opening stage but had no answer to a decisive attack from his fellow puncheur.

Alaphilippe is now eight seconds behind while Pogacar and Roglic, who were virtually inseparable on the road, occupy third and fourth places in the general classification standings.

The Slovenian duo's second and third places in the stage are in the same order in which they collected the first set of bonus seconds on the Mur-de-Bretagne behind Van der Poel.

Thomas ships time
Ineos Grenadiers came into the Tour with arguably a four-pronged attack for the general classification, with Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Richie Porte and Richard Carapaz.

However, Geoghegan Hart and Porte both conceded significant ground after being caught up in crashes on stage one and the conclusion to stage two saw another unwelcome development as 2018 winner Thomas was distanced at the finish.

The British team had controlled the pace up the final climb and while his team-mate Carapaz was in the group that finished eight seconds behind Van der Poel, Thomas slipped 23 seconds and now trails the maillot jaune by 41 seconds, having dropped from 10th to 20th overall.

Stage three on Monday sees the race travel on a relatively flat 182.9km course from Lorient to Pontivy.

That should provide an early indication of Mark Cavendish's form, with the winner of 30 stages looking to make further inroads into Eddy Merckx's record tally of 34.

French police launch investigation into stage one crash
With stage one having been badly affected by two major crashes, four official race cars preceded the peloton on Sunday to keep the road clear of overexcited fans.

Despite the safety measures, however, the peloton was forced to slow down at times due to spectators spilling on to the course, while some riders could be seen waving towards the fans to tell them to stay off the road.

Earlier, youths had set off flares and fireworks by the roadside at the moment the riders were speeding past them.

Tour de France
Roadside fans mocked up a 'wanted' poster mimicking the placard which caused the first crash on Saturday after police appealed for witnesses
As the riders took to stage two, French police launched an investigation into the multi-rider pile-up on Saturday which was caused by a spectator who leant into the path of the speeding peloton while holding up a sign.

The police said they intend to charge the unnamed spectator with "unintentional short-term injury through a manifestly deliberate breach of a duty of safety or care".

Fans have lined the streets over the first two days following the relaxation of French coronavirus restrictions.

"We are suing this woman who behaved so badly," said Tour deputy director Pierre-Yves Thouault.

"We are doing this so that the tiny minority of people who do this do not spoil the show for everyone."

Stage two results

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Fenix) 4hrs 18mins 30secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Team Emirates) +6 secs

3. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) Same time

4. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe)

5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +8 secs

6. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Trek-Segafredo) Same time

7. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo Visma)

8. Sergio Higuita (Col/EF Education-Nippo)

9. Pierre Latour (Fra/TotalEnergies)

10. Jack Haig (Aus/Bahrain-Victorious)

General classification standings after stage two

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Fenix) 8hrs 57mins 25secs

2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +8 secs

3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Team Emirates) +13 secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +14secs

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe) +24secs

6. Jack Haig (Aus/Bahrain-Victorious) +26

7. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Trek-Segafredo) Same time

8. Sergio Higuita (Col/EF Education-Nippo)

9. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo Visma)

10. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)