Romain Bardet snatches first stage of the Tour de France as Mark Cavendish struggles

Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) snatched the first stage of the Tour de France and the yellow jersey at the death – with the peloton bearing down just seconds behind him and teammate Frank van den Broek.

The two men had enough time to celebrate together as the Dutch debutant took second place, after a thrilling chase into Rimini on the Adriatic coast.

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was the quickest of the approaching bunch and took third place on a rueful day for the sprinters' teams.

Elder statesman and French hero Bardet made his decisive move on the third-last climb of the day’s seven, the Côte de San Leo, quickly overwhelming the remains of the day’s breakaway – all except his own teammate Van den Broek.

The duo battled hard for 40km on the front of the race with the peloton bearing down behind, shaving away their advantage on the flat final 15km.

The dsm duo had just 22 seconds’ advantage with 3km to go and the peloton had them in their sights on the long flat highway into Rimini on the Adriatic Coast - but the pair held them off against all odds to claim a well-deserved one-two on the line.

"It's crazy," Bardet said after his fourth Tour de France stage victory. "I had to back myself, I had to hope this would go well. I didn't know the course particularly well but Frank was really strong out in front and I felt I had nothing to lose. Because Frank was so strong we were able to work together and go for it - he really deserves this win as much as me."

Bardet also became the first Frenchman to sport yellow since Julian Alaphilippe in 2021. "It's certainly one of the goals I set for my career," he added. "I've been really close before, it's been within touching distance and I've never been able to do it. But today - I wasn't sure it was able to happen, but I had a great teammate with me. When I look back on this victory I'll remember how special it was."

At the other end of the peloton was Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan), whose bid for a record 35th Tour stage victory was immediately put in peril despite waving cheerily to crowds at the rollout in Florence.

He was dropped on the first climb of the day and supported by several teammates, appearing to throw up on the bike and struggling with the heat. He faced a race against the clock to finish within the time limit, eventually crossing the line with his teammates 39 minutes down on the winner.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Grand Départ of the 111th Tour de France took place in Italy for the first time, with the peloton rolling out on the streets of Florence. After 16.2 neutralised kilometres winding past palazzos and churches, the riders crossed through the city gates and out into the Tuscan countryside for the toughest opening stage in Tour history.

Starting on the banks of the Arno river, the route took the peloton eastwards towards Rimini on the Adriatic Coast, taking in seven categorised climbs before a faster final 25km to the line.

There was a casualty even before the race began as Jan Hirt (Soudal Quick-Step) was the victim of a crash with a spectator after the sign-on period that left him with three broken teeth and a bloodied nose. Hirt –  a key support rider for Remco Evenepoel – still took to the start but was visibly suffering.

Even with the impending prospect of 3,600m of elevation gain over the course of a brutal first day in the saddle, the peloton made a fast start. With pre-Tour nerves buzzing most teams were keen to make the early break, but UAE Team Emirates and Red Bull–Bora-Hansgrohe controlled the front of the bunch and were unwilling to let too big a group up the road.

Waves of attacks were quickly swallowed up until a seven-man group took advantage of a brief lull in the bunch. Riders slowed for food and drinks under the blazing Tuscan sunshine and a strong group of Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Clément Champoussin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Mattéo Vercher and Sandy Dujardin (both TotalEnergies), and Frank van den Broek ((dsm-firmenich PostNL) made the jump. They had a minute’s gap on the bunch after just under 20km raced.

Uno-X Mobility – clearly annoyed to have missed the break – attempted to counter-attack with several different riders, eventually making a move stick as Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno X-Mobility) was joined by Ryan Gibbons (Lidl-Trek).

As the riders tackled the Tour’s first climb, the 12.5km Col de Valico Tre Faggi, the seven leaders had 45 seconds over their two chasers and two and a half minutes over the peloton. The bunch were content to let that lead balloon out as they pitched uphill, with tougher climbs to come over a relentlessly lumpy day. Gibbons and Abrahamsen tackled the category 2 ascent with a bit more speed and were rewarded for their hard work by catching the breakaway.

Several riders looked to struggle in the fierce heat, with Vercher dropping away from the leaders and Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) in a familiar position on uphill stages, out the back of the peloton. It was an inauspicious start for the Manxman and with his deficit growing he was nursed up the final kilometres of the first climb and repeatedly doused with water by teammates Cees Bol, Michele Gazzoli, Davide Ballerini and Michael Mørkøv.

With that group eight minutes down on the front of the race and three minutes behind the peloton with six more climbs still to climb, it looked like Cavendish’s Tour – and bid to break the 34-stage victory record he shares with Eddy Merckx – was in terminal danger. He was unwell several times on the bike, including on the descent, where he appeared to struggle to hold his teammates’ wheel.

At the other end of the race, over the top of the Col de Valico Tre Faggi, Izaguirre bested Madouas, Abrahamesen and Van den Broeke in a four-way sprint to the first KOM points of the Tour de France. He did so again, beating Abrahamsen and Madouas at the top of the Côte des Forche, with the peloton slowly ramping up the pace, absorbing Vercher and moving 3:30 behind the eight leaders.

In better news for the still-suffering Cavendish this was a shorter climb at 2.5km, but steeper at an average gradient of 6.7%. He made it to the top, escorted by his teammates – offering moral support as much as anything else –  but was by now over five minutes down on the peloton, and with little prospect of making up much time on the very short descent.

Dujardin outsprinted Abrahamsen for the first points in the intermediate sprint at Santa Sofia, while three minutes behind, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the first clash between the rest of the real sprinters. Lidl-Trek led out Mads Pedersen, setting out their stall for the points classification battle, but Philipsen edged past him on the line, with Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) also contesting it.

With the sprint done it was immediately back uphill, and the leaders’ group was whittled down on the 10.5km Côte de Carnaio as both Dujardin and Champoussin wilted. More sprinters than just Cavendish were struggling, as Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and teammate Bram Welten joined the grupetto alongside Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Izaguirre once again got the better of Abrahamsen, this time sprinting from a long way out for the KOM points at the top of the Côte de Carnaio. The Norwegian looked visibly frustrated with him at the top although there was no indication Izaguirre had impeded his sprint.

Visma-Lease a Bike’s misfortune continued as Wilco Kelderman was seen back in the peloton with his left elbow bandaged following a crash, while Astana Qazaqstan’s dreadful first day at the Tour got worse with debutant Michele Gazzoli, also struggling with the heat, becoming the first abandon of the race.

Down one man, the Astana-led grupetto slipped to 15 minutes behind the breakaway as the race entered its harder, steeper second half. Four climbs were packed into 80km, starting with the technical approach to the day’s steepest ascent, the 7.6% Côte de Barbotto.

Abrahamsen finally earned maximum KOM points atop the Barbatto, powering over from nearly 500m down the climb, with Madouas, Van den Broek and Mohorič collecting the rest of the points a couple of bike lengths further back. Izaguirre, however, was spat out the back on the category 2 climb, with one final cat 2 still to come: the Côte de San Leo.

In an early battle between the top two teams, Visma-Lease a Bike massed at the front for the 4.6km climb at 7.7%. With the breakaway’s advantage down to 1:16 Bardet launched the first major attack from the bunch. The Frenchman had made his intentions known early in the day, attempting to get into the first move, and looked fresh as he steamrolled past the remnants of the original group, swatting aside Mohorič and Gibbons and latching onto the wheel of waiting teammate Van den Broek.

Madouas deprived Abrahamsen of the Côte de San Leo KOM points and the duo of lone survivors were joined by the dsm-firmenich PostNL pair at the bottom of a hair-raising 75km/h descent. They had 1:20 on the chasing peloton, but that was also beginning to split.

Irish national champion Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) made his own move on the lower slopes of the day’s penultimate climb, the category 3 Côte de Montemaggio. He was kept pegged at around a minute back by Bardet and briefly had company in the form of Madouas before dropping the Frenchman. Meanwhile Abrahamsen, his work done and the first KOM jersey of the Tour de France secured, went backwards.

The Visma-led peloton too appeared to slow down, with Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) looking less than fresh towards the rear, and after absorbing Madouas there were just three men ahead on the road and 2km of climbing left on this brutal opening stage.

Working in tandem Bardet and Van den Broek crested the day’s final ascent, the category 3, 7.1km-long Côte de San Marino, and set off for home. They had only 25km of descending and flat road left and the yellow jersey beckoning. At the far end of the race was another pair of dsm-firmenich PostNL riders, as Jakobsen was dropped by the Cavendish group with Welten for company.

Bardet and his co-conspirator looked strong as they tackled the descent into San Marino, the Tour’s 13th country, while EF Education-EasyPost swung into damage-control mode on the front of the peloton. Healy had run out of road and the American squad went to work for their original target for the stage, Bettiol, keeping Bardet and van den Broek at around 1:30 ahead with the kilometres ticking by rapidly.

As the kilometres ticked by the dsm duo’s lead was rapidly shaved down. Van den Broek deservedly took the combativity prize for the first day, but for a few minutes it looked as if that was all they would be able to take from their incredible efforts.

But with the pair riding at full gas, pain etched on their faces, on the approach to the line, it became clear that it was the sprinters’ teams that had misjudged their tactics. The two riders sat up to celebrate Bardet’s first Tour stage win since 2017 – and the first time in his storied career that the Frenchman could don the yellow jersey.

Cavendish and his teammates - along with Jakobsen - made it inside the time limit, but whether the aftereffects of this gruelling stage put paid to his campaign for a 35th win remains to be seen.

RESULTS: TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 1, FLORENCE > RIMINI (206KM): GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 1:

1. Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL), in 05:07:22
2. Frank van den Broek (dsm-firmenich PostNL)
3. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), + 5seconds
4. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
5. Maxim van Gils (Lotto Dstny)
6. Alex Aranburu (Movistar)
7. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
8. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
9. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)
10. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 1:

1. Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL), in 05:07:22
2. Frank van den Broek (dsm-firmenich PostNL)
3. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), + 5seconds
4. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
5. Maxim van Gils (Lotto Dstny)
6. Alex Aranburu (Movistar)
7. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
8. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
9. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)
10. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), all at same time