tour de france yves lampaert

• Nick Zaccardi ,

• Brentley Romine ,

Trending Teams

Yves lampaert wins tour de france opening time trial; tadej pogacar leads gc contenders.

• OlympicTalk ,
• OlympicTalk

Belgian Yves Lampaert was the surprise winner of the Tour de France’s opening time trial, while two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar gained seconds on his biggest threats.

Lampaert, 31, earned the biggest victory of his career in Copenhagen. He started after all of the favorites and overtook countryman Wout van Aert by four seconds, crossing the 8.2-mile course in 15 minutes, 17 seconds.

Lampaert could scarcely believe it when he realized he won, wiping away tears and putting his hands on his mouth.

“My mind is exploding,” Lampaert said. “I came with expectation a top-10 would be great. Now I beat all the best riders in the world. I’m just a farmer’s son from Belgium. To do this, I never expect it.”

Pogacar was third, seven seconds behind, followed by world time trial champion Filippo Ganna of Italy.

Pogacar gained eight and nine seconds on Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic , respectively, his top rivals to claim the Tour title in Paris in three weeks.

TOUR DE FRANCE: Standings | Broadcast Schedule | Stage by Stage

The rain was teeming when Roglic finished under grey skies shortly after 4:30 p.m., and still lashing when Pogacar set off around 40 minutes later. Even though he is a specialist in the wet, Pogacar looked cautious taking the first turn.

It might have cost him victory.

Riders set off to loud cheers.

“There was so much noise you could hardly hear anything in the earpiece,” French rider David Gaudu said.

Large parts of the Danish capital were shut down. The wet roads made the route treacherous — especially the section across the square of Amalienborg Palace, the main residence of Denmark’s royal family, which is paved with cobblestones.

Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger fell off twice, but continued.

The stage went past the city’s other best known landmarks, including the Little Mermaid statue, sitting on her perch at the entrance of the harbor.

Among the thousands of fans, some waving the red-and-white Danish flag, was Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen .

“I grew up with my dad being glued to the television screen to watch Tour de France,” Frederiksen said.

Earlier, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik rode the route.

“It is great to see the great support for the Tour at home,” said the 54-year-old Frederik, sporting a helmet, shorts and a T-shirt. The palace also published Instagram vintage photos of Danish royals riding bicycles, including Frederik’s great grandfather, King Christian X and the current Queen Margrethe .

There are two more stages in Denmark this weekend, including crossing the Great Belt Bridge that links the Zealand island, where Copenhagen sits, and the central isle of Funen.

The first start in Denmark — but the 24th time the race has started outside of France — was supposed to be held in 2021 but postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the Danish stages, the riders travel to France with a stage between Dunkirk and Calais.

The race ends in Paris on July 24.

Meanwhile, police have been closely investigating the Bahrain Victorious team and seized more than 450 capsules of unidentified substances at a house in Slovenia during raids across Europe, the European agency Eurojust said Friday.

Riders and staff had their homes raided and the team’s hotel in Denmark was searched this week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News . Favorite us!

Here is a preview of Stage 2 of @LeTour tomorrow. #TDF2022 📺: @USA_Network & @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/YXGKu8iSFf — NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 1, 2022

Yves Lampaert claims shock time trial win in first stage of Tour de France

Yves Lampaert of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has sprung a surprise win on stage one of the Tour de France, finishing five seconds ahead of pre-stage favourite and fellow Belgian Wout van Aert. 

Key points:

• Yves Lampaert of Belgium won the first stage in 15 minutes and 17 seconds, beating out countryman Wout van Aert
• Olympic time trial champion Primoz Roglic finished third in wet conditions in Copenhagen
• Stage two is 202.2km flat stage from Roskilde to Nyborg

Lampaert finished with a time of 15 minutes and 17 seconds in rainy conditions that slowed several riders on the 13.2 kilometre individual time trial in Copenhagen. 

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, who is targeting his third consecutive Tour de France title, finished seven seconds behind in third. 

"I have beaten the great Wout van Aert," Lampaert said. 

"It's incredible, I never expected that. For now, I don't understand. It's the Tour de France, the best riders have completed the course and I'm in the lead."

Copenhagen is known as the world's most bike-friendly city, but the stage was anything but as rain led to slippery conditions — especially on the cobblestones — where a couple of riders crashed.

Dutch national champion Bauke Mollema set the early pace but was quickly dislodged from the top by compatriot Mathieu van der Poel.

Olympic time trial champion Primoz Roglic was three seconds slower than Van der Poel as the Slovenian opted to avoid taking risks on treacherous corners as conditions worsened.

Van Aert, who was behind the pace at the intermediate point, then stormed into the lead when he passed the finish.

Lampaert was also two seconds behind at the intermediate point but picked up the pace as the roads began to dry to top the time sheets as Van Aert looked on impressed.

"Yves is a specialist on short time trials and I'm happy for him," said van Aert, who was experiencing knee pains before the race.

"Today was OK: I didn't feel any pain, it's good. But it's still a disappointment to finish second."

Geraint Thomas, winner in 2018, was 25 seconds behind, and the Ineos Grenadiers rider later realised he had been slowed down because he forgot to remove his gilet before going out the gate.

"I zipped it up, it was nice and snug — and I didn't realise. The guy at the start didn't notice, not that it was his fault," Thomas said.

"Once I went through that time check and I was 18 seconds down at the check point, then I just took the pin out."

The Tour was earlier thrown under a cloud after authorities searched the vehicles and rooms of the Bahrain Victorious team's staff and riders as French prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into doping allegations.

Their homes were also searched by police on Monday before their departure for the Tour.

Saturday's stage two is a 202.2 km flat stage from Roskilde to Nyborg.

• X (formerly Twitter)

Related Stories

Sprinters ready for revenge and redemption at the 2022 tour de france.

Danish police search Bahrain Victorious's hotel ahead of Tour de France

Ben O'Connor well-placed to become third Australian to make Tour de France podium

• Cycle Sport
• Road Cycle Racing

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Lampaert wins first Tour de France stage in the rain

El belga Yves Lampaert celebra en el podio tras ganar la etapa inaugural del Tour de Francia, en Copenhague, Dinamarca, el viernes 1 de julio de 2022. (AP Foto/Daniel Cole)

Stage winner and new overall leader Belgium’s Yves Lampaert wipes a tear on the podium after the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Stage winner Belgium’s Yves Lampaert, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, celebrates on the podium after the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Belgium’s Yves Lampaert rides during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar passes the Little Mermaid statue by Edvard Eriksen during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Fans cheer prior to the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic rides during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

A French gendarme, part of the security detail of the race, takes pictures of the Little Mermaid statue by Edvard Eriksen prior to the first stage of the tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Belgium’s Wout Van Aert rides during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar rides during the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 13.2 kilometers (8.2 miles) with start and finish in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

• Copy Link copied

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Although Belgian rider Yves Lampaert caused a surprise by winning the Tour de France opening stage, two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar wouldn’t have been bothered at finishing third on Friday.

His priority was testing his race legs and placing ahead of his Slovenian countryman and main rival Primoz Roglic, the 2020 runner-up, who was eighth in the time trial.

“I’m feeling confident, satisfied, even though it was tense and tight for me,” Pogacar said. “It’s still one of my best Tour starts.”

Lampaert is a former world champion in team time trial but this was his first stage win at the three-week Tour. He clocked 15 minutes, 17 seconds on the 13-kilometer (eight-mile) route around Copenhagen.

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider was five seconds ahead of countryman Wout van Aert — Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma teammate — and seven ahead of Pogacar, who leads UAE Team Emirates. Pogacar was a measly nine seconds clear of Roglic.

Lampaert could scarcely believe it when he realized he won, wiping away tears and putting his hands on his mouth.

He couldn’t believe another thing, either, beating Van Aert — a three-time cyclo-cross world champion, multiple one-day classics winner and two-time national time trial champ.

“I beat the great Van Aert! It’s unbelievable for me, I never thought about wearing the yellow jersey. My head’s exploding,” Lampaert said. “I was expecting to finish in the top 10. That would have been very good, and now I’ve beaten all the best.”

The rain was teeming when Roglic finished under grey skies shortly after 4:30 p.m., and still lashing when Pogacar set off around 40 minutes later. Even though he is a specialist in the wet, Pogacar looked cautious taking the first turn.

It might have cost him victory.

Riders set off to loud cheers.

“There was so much noise you could hardly hear anything in the earpiece,” French rider David Gaudu said.

The noise level went up again when local rider Jonas Vingegaard — Roglic’s teammate and the Tour runner-up last year — rolled down the start ramp. He placed seventh, one second ahead of Roglic.

Large parts of the Danish capital were shut down. The wet roads made the route treacherous — especially the section across the square of Amalienborg Palace, the main residence of Denmark’s royal family, which is paved with cobblestones.

Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger fell off twice, but continued.

The stage went past the city’s other best known landmarks, including the Little Mermaid statue, sitting on her perch at the entrance of the harbor.

Among the thousands of fans, some waving the red-and-white Danish flag, was Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

“I grew up with my dad being glued to the television screen to watch Tour de France,” Frederiksen said.

Earlier, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik rode the route.

“It is great to see the great support for the Tour at home,” said the 54-year-old Frederik, sporting a helmet, shorts and a T-shirt. The palace also published Instagram vintage photos of Danish royals riding bicycles, including Frederik’s great grandfather, King Christian X and the current Queen Margrethe.

There are two more stages in Denmark this weekend, including crossing the Great Belt Bridge that links the Zealand island, where Copenhagen sits, and the central isle of Funen.

The first start in Denmark — but the 24th time the race has started outside of France — was supposed to be held in 2021 but postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the Danish stages, the riders travel to France with a stage between Dunkerque and Calais.

The race ends in Paris on July 24.

Meanwhile, police have been closely investigating the Bahrain Victorious team and seized more than 450 capsules of unidentified substances at a house in Slovenia during raids across Europe, the European agency Eurojust said Friday.

Riders and staff had their homes raided and the team’s hotel in Denmark was searched this week.

AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris and Associated Press writer Jan Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Tour de France: Lampaert in yellow as Thomas rallies after clothing error

• Belgian wins Copenhagen time trial ahead of Wout van Aert
• Thomas forgot to remove gilet before rain-soaked first stage

Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers threw caution to the wind in the Copenhagen rain as the 2022 Tour de France got under way with a treacherous opening individual time-trial stage in the Danish capital.

Thomas, who won on a similarly drenched course at the start of the 2018 Tour in Düsseldorf, “pulled the pin” on a nervy start to the stage, but it was not enough to lift him into the top 10, as the defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) proved faster than all his rivals for final victory in Paris. Yves Lampaert of Belgium, riding for Quickstep-Alpha Vinyl, was seen as an unexpected stage winner despite his time-trialling pedigree, and took the first maillot jaune, as the controversy over the team’s omission of the sprinter Mark Cavendish finally subsided. “My mind is exploding,” a tearful Lampaert said after his win.

Thomas raced in a sleeveless gilet over his aerodynamic kit after forgetting to remove it after his warm-up. “That was the worst first half of a time trial that I have ever done,” the Welshman said. “Everyone’s telling you to take it easy, but the main thing when I won in Düsseldorf, is just flow. This felt so bitty, stop and start. When I heard the time gaps, 18 seconds down to Mathieu van der Poel, I thought: ‘Sod it, just race’ and then I went better.

“The legs were good anyway, but it’s a shame about that blinking gilet. Because I zipped it up all nice and snug, I forgot I had it on and nobody spotted it. I did think about taking it off but it would have been a bit dodgy.

“The main thing is the legs felt good, really good to be fair. When I put the power down I had plenty of it. Mentally it was one of the hardest time trials I’ve ever done.”

The stage was dominated by riders from the Jumbo-Visma with Wout van Aert, Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard all finishing in the top 10. Of the early starters, Van Aert set the fastest time but as the rain eased, later in the afternoon his time was surpassed by Lampaert.

Yet the die seems already cast with Pogacar finishing fastest of the major contenders for overall victory. The 23-year-old Slovenian, reserved in the earlier and more technical sections of the course, picked up pace towards the finish in a demonstration suggesting that he had maintained the flying form that recently secured victory in his native tour.

Both Thomas and his British teammate, Adam Yates, unsure of his form after a recent bout of Covid-19, will rightly point to the thousands of kilometres of racing still to come, but it is already clear that the Slovenian double Tour winner will, as expected, be the rider to beat.

Yates, sporting a super-sized helmet and visor last seen worn by Darth Vader, recorded a better time than had been predicted and may come into his best form as the race progresses.

The Tour’s superstars opted to pick their start times according to the predicted weather conditions, but the best-laid plans backfired when the heavens opened almost as the stage began. Staying upright and minimising risk on the Tour’s opening stage immediately became the priority, but even so the slick city streets caught out some.

With Pogacar watching on, his chief rivals, Slovenian compatriot Roglic and his Danish teammate, Vingegaard, fuelled the expected leadership battle within their Jumbo-Visma team by finishing only a second apart. Their duel for supremacy, alongside their battle to overthrow Pogacar, is likely to be one of the talking points of the Tour.

In what is expected to be a stressful and hectic weekend of racing, before Monday’s lengthy transfer to northern France, a second all-too-familiar story is shadowing the peloton after French prosecutors, coordinating with Europol, confirmed that their third raid in a year, and second in a week , on the Bahrain Victorious team, was in pursuit of prohibited substances.

“Law enforcement and judicial authorities in France, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Poland and Slovenia have carried out a coordinated action against the use of prohibited substances in cycling races,” Europol said in a statement.

“The investigation was led by the French OCLAESP under the supervision of the French public prosecutor’s office in Marseille to look into possible doping allegations of a cycling team participating in the Tour de France .

“Three people were interrogated. The investigation is ongoing and the evidence seized is being forensically examined.

“The properties of several riders and their staff were searched in Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Poland and Slovenia.”

Meanwhile a statement from the French prosecutor’s offices in Marseilles, where the investigation is based, contradicted what the Bahrain Victorious team said after Thursday’s raid, when they stated that “no items were seized”.

According to the French authorities, “Electronic material (phones, computers, hard drives) and medicines – of which the nature and origin remain undetermined, or which require a prescription – have been seized.”

• Tour de France
• Geraint Thomas

Most viewed

Yves Lampaert wins first Tour de France stage; defending champion Tadej Pogacar in third

• Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Although Belgian rider Yves Lampaert caused a surprise by winning the Tour de France opening stage, two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar wasn't bothered at finishing third Friday.

His priority was testing his race legs and placing ahead of his Slovenian countryman and main rival Primoz Roglic, the 2020 runner-up, who was eighth in the time trial.

"I'm feeling confident, satisfied, even though it was tense and tight for me," Pogacar said. "It's still one of my best Tour starts."

Lampaert is a former world champion in team time trial, but this was his first stage win at the three-week Tour. He clocked 15 minutes, 17 seconds on the 8-mile route around Copenhagen.

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider was five seconds ahead of countryman Wout van Aert, Roglic's Jumbo-Visma teammate, and seven ahead of Pogacar, who leads UAE Team Emirates. Pogacar was nine seconds clear of Roglic.

Lampaert could scarcely believe it when he realized he won, wiping away tears and putting his hands on his mouth.

He couldn't believe another thing either, beating Van Aert -- a three-time cyclo-cross world champion, multiple one-day classics winner and two-time national time trial champ.

"I beat the great Van Aert! It's unbelievable for me. I never thought about wearing the yellow jersey. My head's exploding," Lampaert said. "I was expecting to finish in the top 10. That would have been very good, and now I've beaten all the best."

The rain was teeming when Roglic finished under gray skies shortly after 4:30 p.m. and still lashing when Pogacar set off around 40 minutes later. Even though he is a specialist in the wet, Pogacar looked cautious taking the first turn.

It might have cost him victory.

Riders set off to loud cheers.

"There was so much noise you could hardly hear anything in the earpiece," French rider David Gaudu said.

The noise level went up again when local rider Jonas Vingegaard -- Roglic's teammate and the Tour runner-up last year -- rolled down the start ramp. He placed seventh, one second ahead of Roglic.

The wet roads of the Danish capital made the route treacherous, especially the section across the square of Amalienborg Palace -- the main residence of Denmark's royal family -- which is paved with cobblestones. Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger fell off twice but continued.

The stage went past the city's other best known landmarks, including the Little Mermaid statue, sitting on her perch at the entrance of the harbor. Among the thousands of fans, some waving the red-and-white Danish flag, was Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

"I grew up with my dad being glued to the television screen to watch Tour de France," Frederiksen said.

Earlier, Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik rode the route.

"It is great to see the great support for the Tour at home," said the 54-year-old Frederik, sporting a helmet, shorts and a T-shirt. The palace also published vintage photos on Instagram of Danish royals riding bicycles, including Frederik's great-grandfather, King Christian X, and the current Queen Margrethe.

There are two more stages in Denmark this weekend, including crossing the Great Belt Bridge that links the Zealand island, where Copenhagen sits, and the central isle of Funen.

The first start in Denmark -- but the 24th time the race has started outside of France -- was supposed to be held in 2021 but was postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the Danish stages, the riders travel to France with a stage between Dunkerque and Calais.

The race ends in Paris on July 24.

Meanwhile, police have been closely investigating the Bahrain Victorious team and seized more than 450 capsules of unidentified substances at a house in Slovenia during raids across Europe, the European agency Eurojust said Friday.

Riders and staff had their homes raided, and the team's hotel in Denmark was searched this week.

• Tour de France
• Stages - Results
• Previous winners
• Tennis Home
• Calendar - Results
• Australian Open
• Roland-Garros
• All Competitions
• Cycling Home
• Race calendar
• Vuelta a España
• Giro d'Italia
• Dare to Dream
• Football Home
• Fixtures - Results
• Premier League
• Champions League
• All leagues
• Snooker Home
• World Championship
• UK Championship
• Major events
• Olympics Home
• Mountain Bike Home
• UCI Track CL Home
• Men's standings
• Women's standings
• Alpine Skiing Home
• Athletics Home
• Diamond League
• World Championships
• World Athletics Indoor Championships
• Biathlon Home
• Cross-Country Skiing Home
• Cycling - Track
• Equestrian Home
• Figure Skating Home
• Formula E Home
• Calendar - results
• DP World Tour
• MotoGP Home
• Motorsports Home
• Speedway GP
• Clips and Highlights
• Rugby World Cup predictor
• Premiership
• Champions Cup
• Challenge Cup
• All Leagues
• Ski Jumping Home
• Speedway GP Home
• Superbikes Home
• The Ocean Race Home
• Triathlon Home
• Hours of Le Mans
• Winter Sports Home

Tour de France 2022 Stage 1 - Yves Lampaert in yellow after beating Wout van Aert in opening time trial

• Overall standings

Updated 01/07/2022 at 18:21 GMT

Lampaert stuns big names to win Stage 1 time trial in rainy Copenhagen

01/07/2022 at 20:59

Tour de France team guide: Star riders, memorable moments, which French food are they?

01/07/2022 at 11:48

• Skip to Navigation
• Skip to Main Content
• Skip to Related Content
• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Online checking
• High-yield savings
• Money market
• Home equity loan
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Options pit
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard
• Scores/Schedules
• Wemby Watch
• Fantasy Basketball
• In-Season Tournament
• All-Star Game
• Power Rankings
• Fantasy Baseball
• 2024 Schedule
• Scores/Schedule
• Fantasy Football
• Free Agency
• Copa América

• Fantasy Hockey
• How To Watch the 2024 Season
• Paris Games Home
• USA Swimming
• UFC Schedule
• Leaderboard
• Scottie Scheffler Arrest
• Masters Tournament
• PGA Championship
• Tournament Schedule
• French Open
• Australian Open
• Playoff and Bowl Games
• Yahoo Sports AM
• March Madness
• College Sports
• Fantasy Sports
• Sports Betting 101
• Bet Calculator
• Legalization Tracker
• Casino Games
• Kentucky Derby
• Preakness Stakes
• Belmont Stakes
• Ball Don't Lie
• Yahoo Fantasy Football Show
• College Football Enquirer
• Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Legendary Hall of Famer Jerry West dies at 86

• Jerry West dead at 86
• Porziņģis injury impact on NBA Finals
• Rahm WDs from U.S. Open
• MLB MVP race
• Rodgers skips mandatory minicamp

Tour de France 2022 LIVE - Stage 1 result: Yves Lampaert beats Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas to Yellow Jersey

Belgian rider Yves Lampaert won the Tour de France opening stage while two-time defending champion and favourite Tadej Pogacar impressed by finishing third on Friday.

Pogacar placed ahead of his Slovenian countryman and main rival Primoz Roglic, the 2020 runner-up, who was eighth in the time trial. Lampaert is a former world champion in team time trial but this was his first stage win at the three-week Tour. He clocked 15 minutes, 17 seconds on the 13-kilometer (eight-mile) route around Copenhagen. The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider was five seconds ahead of countryman Wout van Aert — Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma teammate — and seven ahead of Pogacar, who leads UAE Team Emirates. Pogacar was nine seconds clear of Roglic.

Adam Yates and Tour debutant Tom Pidcock impressed on their return from Covid-19, with the Ineos Grenadiers pair 13th and 15th, 16 and 17 seconds off Pogacar’s time respectively. Team-mate Geraint Thomas, who rode the stage in a gilet after forgetting to take it off before the start, was one second further back.

The Copenhagen crowd produced a fine atmosphere in the soggy conditions, with local rider Jonas Vingegaard — Roglic’s teammate and the Tour runner-up last year — sparking wild cheers as he rolled down the start ramp. He placed seventh, one second ahead of Roglic.

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1

Exclusive interview - Tadej Pogacar: The invisible champion out to win historic third Tour de France

Jumbo-Visma’s Yellow Jersey contenders Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard train in Bjerge near Copenhagen

Geraint Thomas welcomes ‘Grandad’ Bradley Wiggins’ Tour de France underdog tip

GC contender Roglic negotiates slick conditions superbly

Thomas safely negotiates Stage 1 and dangerous, wet conditions

Yves Lampaert stuns Wout Van Aert to win time trial

Thomas not happy with Stage 1: ‘ The first half was the worst cornering I’ve done in a TT'

Lampaert reacts to shock Stage 1 win to claim Yellow Jersey

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1 leaderboard and standings

Tour de France 2022 Stage 2 preview: Route map and profile

19:07 , Jack Rathborn

The Tour de France resumes for Stage 2 on Saturday after Yves Lampaert claimed the first Yellow Jersey in a shock win in a soaked Copenhagen. The Belgian beat out defending champion Tadej Pogacar by seven seconds in an impressive 15 minutes and 17 seconds to beat compatriot Wout van Aert by five seconds.

With GC contenders Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard and Geraint Thomas all safely negotiating the treacherous conditions, attentions switches to another stage which could be defined by weather.

Stage 2 promises spectacular imagery and, if the wind picks up, plenty of action on the road as the peloton traces the Danish coastline before crossing the majestic Great Belt Bridge.

One of the beauties of the Grand Depart going on Tour is that it throws up totally unknown routes and almost anything could happen on a day like this one. Fierce crosswinds could split the pack and put a serious dent in the hopes of those who come out on the wrong side.

Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen eye Stage 2 win at Tour de France

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1 result and leaderboard

18:59 , Jack Rathborn

Yves Lampaert (Bel) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:15:17

Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma 00:00:05

Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:07

Filippo Ganna (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:10

Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck 00:00:13

Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:15

Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma 00:00:16

Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 00:00:16

Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:17

Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious 00:00:20

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1: Yves Lampaert reacts to shock win

18:58 , Jack Rathborn

Lampaert: “Everybody is free to pedal as hard as he can in a time trial, but to beat Van Aert, Van der Poel, Ganna, it’s unbelievable for me. The roads were still really wet when I went, so I think I had the same conditions as the main favourites. I always thought on the corners, ‘Yves, go faster, trust in your tyres, or you’ll lose seconds in the corners.’

“And in the end I came in 5 seconds up on Van Aert. I think I’ll only realise what I’ve done when the Tour is over and I go back to my family. Or maybe on Monday when I see my girlfriend and my son. I think I have to be proud of myself.

“I’ll be thinking of the team on the podium and also my best friend Tim Declercq, who had to go home [due to COVID-19 - ed.] I really wanted to celebrate this moment with him, even if I didn’t expect to have it. It’s a pity he’s not here.”

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1: Yves Lampaert wins Copenhagen time trail

18:41 , Michael Jones

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1: Post-race thoughts from Lampaert

18:34 , Michael Jones

“My mind is exploding,” said an emotional Yves Lampaert. “I came with expectation that the top 10 would be great but I have beaten all the best. I can’t believe it.

“I’m just a farmer’s son for Belgium, to win a stage in the Tour de France, this is something I could never believe would happen and now I’ve done it. To beat Van Aert, Van der Poel, Ganna ... it’s unbelievable.

“The potholes were full of water and the road was wet but I always thought in the corners ‘Yves, trust your tyres!’ I’m only going to realise when the Tour is over that I will have had the yellow jersey for at least one day. Or maybe on Monday, when I see my girlfriend and child.”

18:30 , Michael Jones

Tour de France 2022: Stage 1 leaderboard

18:25 , Michael Jones

Yves Lampaert (Bel/Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 15:17

Wout van Aert (Bel/Jumbo-Visma) 15:22

Tadaj Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 15:24

Filippo Ganna (Ita/Ineos Grenadiers) 15:28

Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin–Fenix) 15:30

Mads Pedersen (Den/Trek-Segafredo) 15:32

Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 15:32

Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) 15:33

Bauke Mollema (Ned/Trek-Segafredo) 15:34

Dylan Teuns (Bel/Bahrain Victorious) 15:37

18:22 , Michael Jones

“I have beaten the great Wout van Aert. It’s incredible! I never expected that. For now, I don’t understand. It’s the Tour de France.

“My mind is exploding, I came with the expectation that top-10 would be great but now I’ve beaten the best riders in the world. This is something I never could dream of and I did it.

“I think I have to be proud of myself.”

18:18 , Michael Jones

🏆 🇧🇪 @yveslampaert wins the TT in Copenhagen!! 🏆 🇧🇪 @yveslampaert remporte le contre-la-montre inaugural du #TDF2022 ! pic.twitter.com/6BwbaFQSId — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 1, 2022

18:16 , Michael Jones

The Yellow Jersey is heading the way of Yves Lampaert. Marc Soler eases his way through the course and comes home with a time of 16:45.

Nowhere near challenging enough for the top half of the draw which wasn’t his aim in all honestly.

18:13 , Michael Jones

15th! A remarkable run from Tom Pidcock sees him cross the line in 15:41, +24s behind leader Yves Lampaert. A very strong start to the Tour from the 22-year-old.

18:09 , Michael Jones

Britain’s Tom Pidcock was 12 seconds down on Christophe Laporte’s earlier mark through the first time check but he was quicker than Dylan Teuns at the intermediate check point and could be on for a top-10 finish if he finishes strongly.

18:04 , Michael Jones

Spanish cyclist Marc Soler is last man down the starting ramp while Yves Lampaert remains in the lead and is extremely unlikely to be caught.

Mikkel Honoré is down!

He loses his grip round one of the slippier corners and hits the deck.

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1: Filippo Ganna reveals puncture

18:04 , Jack Rathborn

Filippo Ganna has revealed he suffered a late puncture in the final kilometre, but the Italian has been humble enough to dismiss it as the reason for failing to win today.

“It’s not an excuse, I don’t think I lost because of that, but it went like that,” said Ganna. “The pain in my legs was considerable, I was trying to limit the damage. With the rain, I didn’t feel at my ease on the corners but on the straights I was quite constant. It went like that.

“It was supposed to be dry when I set off, but it was already wet and then it started raining. Like everybody, like Wout and Tadej, we set out early for that reason. We can’t have any regrets. There were just stronger riders today.”

17:59 , Jack Rathborn

17:55 , Jack Rathborn

Wout having a good long look at Lampaert's socks... 😃 @OutOfCycling pic.twitter.com/nearJQQAK0 — Ian (@cyclingbetting) July 1, 2022

17:53 , Michael Jones

Alexey Lutsenko has won a time trial before at stage 5 of the 2014 Tour of Denmark. It was his first pro victory and he also won the ITT at the Critérium du Dauphiné last year.

At present he is 22 seconds slower than Christophe Laporte at the half way mark.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 1 leaderboard and standings

17:45 , Jack Rathborn

Yves Lampaert (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) 15:17

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 15:22

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 15:24

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) 15:28

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 15:30

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 15:32

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 15:32

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 15:33

Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 15:34

Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) 15:38

17:38 , Jack Rathborn

It’s not what Chris Froome would have hoped for, but the four-time winner is back inside and must settle for 85th.

He’s 1:15 down on that sensational time from Lampaert.

Tour de France 2022 - Stage 1: Bradley Wiggins on Chris Froome

17:17 , Jack Rathborn

“The day you underestimate Chris Froome, he will do something at your peril. There’s not as much surface water.

“Chris has a good opportunity here and have a really good ride.

“He wants to put in a good performance and show he’s physically right up there. Wouldn’t it be great to see him win a fifth Tour?”

17:07 , Jack Rathborn

1 Yves Lampaert (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) 15:17

2 Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 15:22

3 Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 15:24

4 Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) 15:28

5 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 15:30

6 Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 15:32

7 Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 15:32

8 Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 15:33

9 Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 15:34

10 Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) 15:38

Tour de France 2022: Stage 1

17:01 , Jack Rathborn

New leader!

Yves Lampaert with a stunning ride, topping Van Aert by 4.55 seconds.

The aerosocks will be a controversial topic now. Let’s see now he’s in pole for the Yellow Jersey.

Tour de France 2022: Geraint Thomas reacts to Stage 1

16:54 , Jack Rathborn

“No, not really, the first half was the worst cornering I’ve done in a TT.

“Everybody was saying don’t take risks. I need flow, you don’t have to go fast, but a nice straight line. Nice and smooth. I felt bitty, I was 18-down, behind Van der Poel, I said forget about it and just race.

“A shame about the start. That blinking gillet. Nobody spotted it. I did think about taking it off, but that’d have been dodgy. The main thing is the legs are good.

“I felt really good, in a straight line, I felt like I had power. Mentally that was the toughest TT in a while.”

Tour de France 2022 Stage 1

16:46 , Jack Rathborn

Meanwhile, Yves Lampaert is being criticised on the broadcast for his rather long songs.

There is a feeling they do not meet UCI regulations, they are at least half-way up his shin.

16:45 , Jack Rathborn

Christophe Laporte is down!

That’s a horrendous fall, he slides a good 5-10m on the wet ground, he only had 4.5km to go.

He’s immediately back up and gets going again, but he can forget the Yellow Jersey now.

Tour de France 2022 Stage 1 top 10

16:25 , Jack Rathborn

Lampaert 15’17”

Van Aert +5”

Pogacar +7”

Van der Poel +13”

Pedersen +15”

Vengegaard +15”

Roglic +16”

Mollema +17”

Jungels +23”

16:21 , Jack Rathborn

Pogacar is 2.48 seconds slower than Van Aert, wow, the Slovenian has beaten Ganna over 13km.

A serious statement from the favourite for the Tour. Real drama in the rain.

16:19 , Jack Rathborn

Pogacar is two seconds quicker than Ganna.

Meanwhile Ganna undercuts Van der Poel by almost three seconds. Fascinating.

Pole position for the Italian, a Yellow Jersey in sight.

But here’s Van Aert, he’s flying!

Tour de France 2022 Stage 1: Top 10 times

16:12 , Jack Rathborn

1 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 15:30

2 Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 15:32

3 Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 15:32

4 Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 15:33

5 Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 15:34

6 Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën) 15:40

7 Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) 15:40

8 Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) 15:42

9 Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) 15:42

10 Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) 15:42

16:08 , Jack Rathborn

Ganna is cautious on these corners.

It’s an intense battle for the Italian, he’ll have had great hopes entering today.

Tour de France 2022 Stage 1: Bradley Wiggins update

16:05 , Jack Rathborn

“The favourite, my favourite, it’s raining like cats and dogs.

“Conditions aren’t ideal for him, physical and also the skills of these corners.

“He looks his robotic self. This is where the tour starts to get going.”

16:03 , Jack Rathborn

Filippo Ganna is out! The favourite, cann the Italian live up to the expectations?

Next up, Van Aert and Pogacar, the big guns!

15:58 , Jack Rathborn

Geraint Thomas goes through the finish line +11.77 on Van der Poel at 50.4kmph.

Impressive ride from the Briton, who has navigated a dangerous stage. He’ll be delighted to get back into the warmth.

Roglic was three seconds off Van der Poel, so no damage done for Thomas.

15:53 , Jack Rathborn

15:46 , Jack Rathborn

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) shoots up to second and just 1.83 seconds behind Van der Poel.

Impressive, too, from Nairo Quintana, who passes Caleb Ewan.

15:45 , Jack Rathborn

Wiggins: “This is the heaviest fall all day. Thomas has kept on his gillet, it’s quite cold, a sign he won’t commit everything to this.

“He didn’t throw caution to the wind. He’s looking gingerly, take it a bit easy, he’s got to do that, it’s three weeks, he doesn’t want to finish on the streets of Copenhagen.

“Thomas is not here to win, it’s a cautious game. A potential podium finish, he could win this race. Fingers crossed for Geraint in these treacherous conditions.”

Tour de France Stage 1

15:43 , Jack Rathborn

Geraint Thomas and home favourite Jonas Vingegaard, two more GC contenders, are next out.

Huge cheers for Vingegaard from the Copenhagen crowd.

Tour de France Stage 1 current standings

15:38 , Jack Rathborn

Van der Poel

Jungels 10’

Tratnik 12’

15:36 , Jack Rathborn

Dani Martinez is 30 seconds behind Mathieu van der Poel.

Roglic is 2.5 seconds back and home, 50.9 km/h average speed. A statement from the GC contender.

15:31 , Jack Rathborn

Mathieu Van der Poel grabs the early lead, 15:30 at an average speed of 51.1kmph.

Nairo Quintana is out too now.

Roglic looking smooth too, nine minutes in, 0.8 seconds down on Mollema at the check point.

15:26 , Jack Rathborn

15:22 , Jack Rathborn

Bissegger is down again! A nightmare for the Swiss, Dani Martinez is out for Ineos.

And so is Primoz Roglic, one of the big men to watch.

15:18 , Jack Rathborn

Lecroq is first over the line, he clocks 16:19.01.

That’s your reference for the next few hours. He averaged 48.5kmph.

15:17 , Jack Rathborn

Bissegger is down! Wow, that was nasty, the Swiss takes a tumble.

A huge blow for one of the favourites. Bradley Wiggins has outlined how dangerous it is out there, but he does maintain there is reward for those who go for it as others hold back.

The former Tour winner says on Eurosport: “He just went down like a sack of, you won’t lose the Tour here, it’s 13km, it’s a real risky one.

“They’d have got word of the crash. It’ll play on people’s minds. Go for it or hold back? There’s enough distance to gain 20 seconds on your rivals. It’ll make it very difficult. It is treacherous.”

15:13 , Jack Rathborn

Mathieu Van der Poel is out!

The Dutchman will be eyeing the Yellow Jersey within the first few stages of the Tour.

These are sketchy conditions and there’s more risk than reward today.

Bissegger looked like he almost went down on these greasy roads, but a tidy adjustment and one of the favourites is back under control.

15:11 , Jack Rathborn

15:10 , Jack Rathborn

Stefan Bissegger is out! The Swiss is second favourite and in bright pink.

Tour de France 2022 Stage 1 odds

15:07 , Jack Rathborn

Bissegger 5/2

Van Aert 4/1

Van der Poel 14/1

Pederson 18/1

Thomas 25/1

Roglic 25/1

Pogacar 33/1

Asgreen 50/1

15:02 , Jack Rathborn

We’re underway in the 2022 Tour de France!

Lecroq is out, the atmosphere is sensational.

It’s very wet on the roads, so a clear advantage to go out later today when it will hopefully dry out somewhat.

Tour de France 2022

14:59 , Jack Rathborn

Filippo Ganna is the favourite today, the Italian has won 11 of the last 15 time trials.

He’s a three-time Italian National Champion and a two-time World Champion.

After skipping the Giro to concentrate on Le Tour, clearly Ganna means business and wants to pull on the Yellow Jersey here.

14:57 , Jack Rathborn

The training has been logged, with that data now available to for 79 percent of the Tour out of a possible 176 riders.

Strava had revealed that the average pro cyclist logs over 400 hours on the bike in individual training hours this year, with the high-volume riders up at 600 hours.

That’s about 30 hours each week or over 1,000km per week. In terms of elevation: Over 180,000 meters this year, or the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest over twenty times.

Tour de France 2022: Five riders to watch

14:45 , Jack Rathborn

Dani Martinez

Nationality: Colombian

Team: Ineos Grenadiers

Previous appearances: 2020 (28th), 2018 (36th)

Stage wins: One (2020 – stage 13)

The devastating training accident which left 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal in intensive care at the start of the year ripped up the Ineos Grenadiers’ plans. They go into the race they dominated for the best part of a decade without a stand-out general classification hope but three options in Martinez, 2018 champion Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates . Martinez made his name as Bernal’s super-domestique in last year’s Giro d’Italia, the sight of him urging on his fading compatriot on the slopes of the Sega di Ala one of the defining images of Bernal’s eventual victory. This year he has been rewarded with leadership roles, and after third-placed finishes at the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice he claimed the win in the Tour of the Basque Country. Ineos will try to use their strength in numbers and considerable experience, but it is the youngest of their potential contenders who looks the most likely.

14:40 , Jack Rathborn

Aleksandr Vlasov

Nationality: Russian

Team: Bora-Hansgrohe

Previous appearances: None

Stage wins: None

Bora-Hansgrohe’s shift in focus since the departure of Peter Sagan in the winter has brought swift rewards, none greater than Jai Hindley’s victory in the Giro d’Italia. Now it is the turn of Vlasov to target the Tour. The 26-year-old, who has never previously ridden the race, has victories in the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana and the Tour de Romandie and is an intriguing outsider.

14:35 , Jack Rathborn

Primoz Roglic

Nationality: Slovenian

Team: Jumbo-Visma

Previous appearances: 2017 (38th), 2018 (fourth), 2020 (second), 2021 (DNF – withdrew after stage eight)

Stage wins: Three (2017 – stage 17; 2018 – stage 19; 2020 – stage four)

Expect to see plenty of repeats of that haunting image of Roglic, helmet askew, eyes searching for a finish line that would not come on La Planches des Belles Filles, as a 2020 Tour he had dominated slipped away on that time-trial. Roglic’s bid for redemption last year was ruined by an early crash, but he comes into the 2022 race looking in better nick than the past two years. Roglic had made final-day collapses an unfortunate speciality – losing his grip at the death on the Criterium du Dauphine in 2020 and 2021, and Paris-Nice in 2021 as well, but he has won both races this year – results which would once have made any rider the stand-out favourite for yellow.

14:30 , Jack Rathborn

Tadej Pogacar

Team: UAE Team Emirates

Previous appearances: 2020 (first), 2021 (first)

Stage wins: Six (2020 – stages nine, 15, and 20; 2021 – stages five, 17 and 18)

The short opening time-trial aside, the first real test for the general classification contenders at this Tour comes on stage eight to La Planche des Belles Filles. It was on this climb that Pogacar dramatically snatched the Tour away from Roglic in 2020. And since then, it has been hard to think of anyone else winning it. Still only 23, Pogacar makes everything look so easy, from stage racing at the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico to one-day classic Strade Bianche, though he did blow a podium finish at the Tour of Flanders. He is once again the man to stop in France.

How the British became so successful at the Tour de France

14:16 , Jack Rathborn

If the average British sports fan knows anything at all about Tom Simpson it’s that he died riding his bike. Ascending the notorious Mont Ventoux in the 1967 Tour de France , he collapsed. That year he was among the favourites for overall victory, the first Briton so heralded. But as the Tour entered its second week Simpson fell ill with diarrhoea. He laboured on. The 13th stage of the race, on 13 July, tackled the 1,909m peak of Ventoux. It was stiflingly hot.

The incredible rise of British success at the Tour de France

‘Everyone wants it’: Tour de France Femmes hailed as big moment for cycling

14:04 , Jack Rathborn

After years of waiting there is less than a month left until the start of the Tour de France Femmes.

A women’s edition of cycling’s biggest race has been top of the wish-list for many riders for a long time, and it will be granted when the peloton sets off from Paris on July 24 – the final day of the men’s race – reaching a climax on La Planches des Belles Filles a week later.

There have been tokenistic attempts, not least the much criticised La Course held alongside the Tour in recent years, but it has taken until now for a proper eight-day women’s Tour to be born.

“As a cyclist people always ask you, ‘Are you doing the Tour de France?’” former British champion Alice Barnes, a rider for Canyon-SRAM, told the PA news agency. “You’d have to say no and explain it’s because there isn’t one.”

Tour de France 2022 talking points: Pidcock’s debut

13:52 , Jack Rathborn

While there are hopes that Geraint Thomas, winner of the Tour de Suisse less than two weeks ago, has the form to challenge for yellow, in the absence of Cavendish the main draw for British fans will be Tom Pidcock’s Tour de France debut. Still only 22, the mountain bike Olympic champion and cyclo-cross world champion has the cycling world at his feet. Pidcock is in no hurry to start focusing solely on the Grand Tours, but after he rode last year’s Vuelta a Espana for experience, it will be fascinating to see how he handles a second three-week race, and where and when he might decide to have a dig.

Tour de France 2022 talking points: Bahrain-Victorious investigation

13:41 , Jack Rathborn

On Monday the Bahrain-Victorious team announced a number of riders and staff had their homes searched by police prior to their departure for Copenhagen. It comes after police last year raided the team’s hotel during the Tour, with the team saying the latest searches are a continuation of the same anti-doping investigation, though few details are known. Whether or not more comes to light over the next three weeks remains to be seen.

Tour de France 2022 talking points: Pressure on Jakobsen?

13:31 , Jack Rathborn

It has long been QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl’s plan that Fabio Jakobsen and not Mark Cavendish would be their man for the sprints this summer, but confirmation of a Cav-less eight-man squad was still met with disappointment. Cavendish illuminated last year’s Tour with his remarkable run of four victories, a stunning comeback as he matched Eddy Merckx’s all-time record of 34 Tour stage victories, but the Manxman will not be adding to that tally as the ruthless Patrick Lefevere favours the younger man this time. After Cavendish’s superb display in last weekend’s British national road race, Jakobsen – who has fought back from a life-threatening crash at the 2020 Tour of Poland – must surely be feeling the pressure to prove his boss’s decision was right.

Tour de France 2022 talking points: Threat of Covid looms again

13:19 , Jack Rathborn

The most obvious factor that could upend this Tour is the rise of Covid-19 cases across the continent once again. The Tour de Suisse, a key warm-up race, was badly hit as almost 30 riders withdrew either because they had contracted the virus, been deemed a close contact, or because their teams pulled out en masse due to cases within their camp. Already QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl have been forced into a change with key domestique Tim Declerq having tested positive just a few days before the Tour, and there is a real fear there will be more cases in the coming days. The UCI has tightened its Covid regulations in response, but will it be enough to keep the peloton safe?

Tour de France 2022 talking points: Can anyone break up the Pog v Rog show?

13:07 , Jack Rathborn

A lot has happened in the world since 2019, and Egan Bernal’s victory in that summer’s Tour certainly seems a long, long time ago. Tadej Pogacar has won two Tours since then and such has been his dominance in stage racing since it already seems the natural order of things. The only man who has been able to challenge him has been fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic , who had seemed so in control of the 2020 Tour until the time trial on the penultimate day. The two start as odds-on favourite and most likely challenger. A case can be made for the likes of Geraint Thomas , Dani Martinez, and Aleksandr Vlasov but can any of them genuinely challenge unless the top two run into trouble?

Tour de France 2022: Danish police raid cycling team Bahrain Victorious on eve of Grand Depart

12:55 , Jack Rathborn

Danish police carried out a search at the hotel of cycling team Bahrain Victorious at the request of French authorities on Thursday, Copenhagen Police said in a statement on the eve of the Tour de France Grand Depart.

Authorities searched all team vehicles and the rooms of staff and riders at 5:30 a.m. local time in Brondby. The homes of riders and staff were also searched by police on Monday before their departure for the Tour.

French prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into doping allegations against Bahrain Victorious after police searched the team’s hotel late in last year’s race.

“Based on a request from the French police, as part of an ongoing investigation in France, we have carried out a search at a hotel in Brondby,” Chief Superintendent Dannie Rise said.

Danish police raid team Bahrain Victorious on eve of Tour de France

Tour de France 2022: Stage 2, Saturday 2 July: Roskilde-Nyborg, 202.5km

12:40 , Jack Rathborn

This long stage could prove pivotal as the peloton traces Denmark’s northern coastline, where crosswinds could split the back and put a serious dent in the hopes of those on the wrong side. Three categorised climbs feature in the middle of the stage before what is set to be a spectacular finale across the Great Belt Bridge

Tour de France 2022: Stage 1, Friday 1 July: individual time trial, Copenhagen, 13.2km

12:25 , Jack Rathborn

The Tour usually begins on Saturday but the transfer from this year’s opening three stages in Copenhagen to northern France means an early rest day and a Friday start to accommodate it. A flat time trial through the streets of Copenhagen opens the show with plenty of intricate tight corners, but given it is only over 13km there shouldn’t be huge time gaps created among the leaders. Even so, the pure climbers will be conscious to minimise losses here.

Tour de France 2022 stage-by-stage guide, route maps and profiles

12:12 , Jack Rathborn

The 2022 Tour de France begins in Copenhagen on Friday 1 July and finishes in Paris on Sunday 24 July, where Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar hopes to be wearing yellow and be crowned champion for the third year in a row.

Standing in his way is the sheer strength and depth of Dutch team Jumbo-Visma , who carry multiple threats including Pogacar’s national teammate Primoz Roglic and last year’s Tour runner-up, Jonas Vingegaard. Ineos Grenadiers are without their leading light Egan Bernal, the 2019 champion who is still recovering from injury, but they do have the in-form Geraint Thomas fresh from winning the Tour de Suisse, as well as potential stage winners Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock.

Here is a stage-by-stage look at this year’s route.

Tour de France 2022 stage-by-stage guide

11:56 , Jack Rathborn

Geraint Thomas was happy to hear his prospects for yellow at this year’s Tour de France talked up by “Grandad Brad” Wiggins but insisted he will take things as they come over the next three weeks.

Thomas goes into Friday’s opening stage in Copenhagen on the back of victory in the Tour de Suisse two weeks ago. However, he is one of three leaders of the Ineos Grenadiers – alongside Dani Martinez and Adam Yates – as they look to take on the likes of defending champion Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.

Wiggins last week told a Eurosport podcast that the 36-year-old Welshman might be an underdog this summer but warned to “dismiss Geraint Thomas at your peril” as he backed him for a podium finish.

“It’s always nice when you hear Grandad Brad says things like that about you,” Thomas said of the man he won Olympic gold alongside in 2008.

“I’m feeling good. Suisse showed I was in decent shape, so we’ll see how it goes here. We’ve got a super-strong team. The main thing is we ride together, we’re aggressive together and we ride off each other, which is what we’ve done all year.”

Tour de France 2022: Jumbo-Visma contenders enjoy training session

11:40 , Jack Rathborn

Tour de France 2022: How to watch on TV and online

11:37 , Jack Rathborn

Tour de France coverage can be found this year on ITV4, Eurosport, Discovery+ and GCN+ (Global Cycling Network).

Live racing each day will be shown on ITV4 before highlights typically at 7pm each day. ITV’s website lists timings here .

Eurosport and GCN+ will show every minute of every stage. More on Eurosport’s coverage here and the GCN+ coverage here .

It is also being shown on Eurosport’s Discovery+ streaming service, with broadcast info here .

Tadej Pogacar: The invisible champion out to win historic third Tour de France

10:39 , Jack Rathborn

In Monaco, Tadej Pogacar blends into the city. He walks invisibly through the streets and potters freely around his local supermarket. Even in his favourite bike shop, the best cyclist in the world queues among the muggles without being disturbed. “I like to go inside and see what’s new, and of course I don’t mind if there’s customers in front of me, it’s normal,” he says.

By all measures a double Tour de France champion should be one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet, a bonafide global superstar unable to walk through a hotel lobby without dark glasses and an entourage, but somehow Pogacar has not yet transcended the sport. One suspects if he was from cycling’s European heartlands or the US with a name that rolled off the tongue, his profile might be a little different. His “TP” brand with an eagle motif and a “never give up” tagline is yet to take off quite like Roger Federer or Tiger Woods.

But understated and low-key is how Pogacar approaches life and cycling, just riding for the joy of it, an ethos which has brought rich rewards so far. After winning back-to-back Tours de France, an historic third next month would set him firmly on course to becoming one of cycling’s all-time greats, and what makes it all possible is just how little he is driven by his own sporting legacy. “For me that’s not something that I would enjoy after [my career] too much and brag about it. I work hard to win a lot of races, but for me the priority is just to be a good friend to my friends and have good relations with the people I want in my life.”

Pogacar is sitting in a lodge in the Italian Alps where he’s been preparing for the Tour, which begins on Friday. He likes it here because he can drive over the border and be home in a few hours – Monaco might be his place of residence these days but it is clear that “home” to Pogacar still means Slovenia. “For me honestly the hardest part of racing is being away from your home so much. It’s our passion and we live a good life so I will not complain, but if you don’t enjoy it anymore, the cycling life, if everything starts to bother you then it’s better if you just find something else that makes you happy.”

Among his 10 victories this season have been many different ways to win, from the gradual grinding of opponents into the dirt to late solo bursts and even what he describes as a “stupid, dangerous move” to win the prestigious Strade Bianche with an attack over treacherous gravel 50km from home. Of the final three stages of the Tour of Slovenia this month, the only one he didn’t win was decided over a game of rock, paper, scissors with his teammate approaching the finish line (Pogacar chose paper to Rafal Majka’s rock and so finished second).

Yves Lampaert storms to yellow jersey with Tour de France stage one time trial victory

The Belgian navigated the course with a quickest time of 15-17, with Wout Van Aert second and Tadej Pogačar third

• Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) will wear the yellow jersey for stage two of the Tour de France , after powering to victory on the stage one time trial in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lampaert shocked his fellow countryman Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) with his performance, as he knocked Van Aert into second place. Taking to the course with conditions improving, Lampaert completed the stage in 15-17, five seconds quicker than Van Aert, to ensure he would take the yellow jersey for the second day.

Early proceedings started with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) holding top spot for an extended period with a time of 15-30. He relinquished the lead when the trio of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) all set off one after another, though. 

Ganna crossed the line with a time of 15-27, placing him in top spot. Van Aert soon beat Ganna's performance, finishing in 15-22 to provisionally take first-place. The Belgian confidently navigated the technical, rain-soaked turns, while Ganna seemed slightly more tentative on tighter corners.

Pogačar then produced a time of 15-24, which eventually earned him third-place. Proving his overall Tour credentials already on the opening stage, Pogačar also knocked world TT champion Ganna out of the podium positions.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The 2022 edition of the Tour de France got underway with a 13km time trial around Denmark's capital city of Copenhagen, the Scandinavian country hosting its first-ever Grand Depart. 

Wet weather plagued the opening day, and, despite the pan-flat route, the rain proved treacherous for the riders to contend with. Technical turns ensured extra caution needed to be taken around the slippery roads, with riders careful not to suffer an early exit from the Tour. 

Get The Leadout Newsletter

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Jérémy Lecroq (B&B Hotels-KTM) kicked off proceedings, getting the 2022 Tour de France underway as the first rider on the time trial course. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), the newly crowned Dutch TT champion, secured the fastest time of the opening riders, though, setting a 15-34 as a marker for the rest of the field to target. 

Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) came into the first day as a contender for the yellow jersey, but a few tetchy moments ultimately culminated in the Swiss rider crashing, unable to stop a slide on a tight right-turn. Unfortunately, Bissegger crashed once more during the time trial, slipping out on a Danish flag painted onto the road. He finished way down on the necessary time, but managed to cross the line, at least. 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had set off on his ride by this point, and when the Dutchman crossed the line he had set the time to beat, with a 15-30. Van der Poel's time was made all the more impressive when considering that he was half a second down on Mollema's time at the intermediate check, at 6.5km into the TT. 

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) tried his best to power on the pedals and beat Van der Poel, but had to settle for a three-second deficit. 

As the first 20 riders completed their TTs, Van der Poel led the standings, with Roglič sat in second and Mollema in third. Plenty of other riders were still to come on the day, though, not least time trial specialist Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). 

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) soon set the second-fastest time of the day, with a 15-32. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) crossed the line half-a-second slower than Pedersen, both riders roared on by the home crowd. This pushed Roglič out of the top three. 

With conditions seemingly worsening, Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) rolled down the start ramp wearing a snood to keep his neck and ears warm. Meanwhile, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) produced a time just 12 seconds slower than Van der Poel, as plenty of riders managed to get close, but not quite close enough, to the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider's time. In fact, the Welshman even rode with wearing a gilet, forgetting to take it off before beginning his ride. 

Filippo Ganna, Wout Van Aert and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) all started one after another an hour into the stage. Ganna crossed the intermediate checkpoint two seconds slower than Mollema, but soon dislodged Van der Poel from the top spot with a storming second-half of his time trial, producing a time of 15-27.

However, the Italian didn't have time to even consider winning the first stage, as Van Aert powered to the line, beating Ganna's time by five seconds and provisionally enough to ensure he would wear the yellow jersey for stage two. Certainly, his knee didn't look to give him too much bother around the technical course.

Pogačar's performance impressed too, as the reigning champion also beat Ganna in a ride that lay down a marker for his credentials at the Tour this year. He had to settle for second, but his time of 15-24 meant halfway through the time trial he was the best of the rest. 

Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) went through the halfway point of the TT two seconds quicker than anyone. The Frenchman's progress soon halted though, slipping and crashing on the rain-soaked surface as he looked in contention to perhaps take provisional first-place. He eventually finished 30 seconds slower than  Van Aert. 

The standings remained largely the same as the rest of the riders completed their laps, that is, until Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) stepped up for his first appearance at the 2022 Tour de France. 

With conditions improving, the Belgian powered around the course, gaining a lot of time on the other riders in the second-half of the time trial. He soon crossed the line five seconds quicker than Van Aert, producing a time of 15-17 to take provisional top spot. 

While the rain had stopped with 30 riders still to take to the route, improving times weren't forthcoming as the the roads remained wet and slippery. 

Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) was the final rider to make his way down the ramp and onto the time trial course, with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) having started his time trial just a few minutes before. Pidcock finished just outside of the top ten, but a strong performance nonetheless. 

With all riders finished, Yves Lampaert was confirmed as the time trial winner and the wearer of the yellow jersey for the second stage, a 202km race from Roskilde to Nyborg.

TOUR DE FRANCE 2022, STAGE ONE: COPENHAGEN TO COPENHAGEN (13KM ITT)

1. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, in 15-17 2. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 5s 3. Tadej Pogačar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates, at 7s 4. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, at 10s 5. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 13s 6. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo, at 15s 7. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 15s 8. Primož Roglič (Svn) Jumbo-Visma, at 16s 9. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, at 17s 10. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Victorious, at 20s

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE ONE

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Ryan is a staff writer for Cycling Weekly, having joined the team in September 2021. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before making his way to cycling. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer. 

Yep, Zwift Ride has been resurrected. It’s now an entry-level indoor smart bike that’s inexpensive to buy, simple to use and easy to live with. A disappointment for seasoned Zwifties perhaps, but a potential delight for newbies.

By Simon Fellows Published 12 June 24

Norwegian rider takes maiden professional victory as he wins from the break

By Adam Becket Published 12 June 24

The second eight-part series is available to stream now

By Tom Davidson Published 11 June 24

From working in a fish auction in Denmark through to breaking climbing records in Spain

By Tom Thewlis Published 6 June 24

All the information you need in order to tune into the biggest race of the year

By James Shrubsall Published 29 May 24

Objects stuffed in skinsuits offer ‘significant’ drag reduction and can save seconds against the clock

By Tom Davidson Published 10 April 24

France Télévisions to discuss drone broadcasts with Tour stakeholders

By Tom Davidson Published 11 March 24

UK Sport confirms that Tour Grand Départ is now merely an "opportunity" in 2027

By Jeremy Whittle Published 5 March 24

The American is a master of the mountains, but he'll have to topple the Visma-Lease a Bike hierarchy if he wants a yellow jersey

By Tom Davidson Published 13 February 24

Government will pay wages via ‘short-time working’ to avoid job losses at Swiss bike giant

By Tom Thewlis Published 12 February 24

Useful links

• Tour de France
• Giro d'Italia
• Vuelta a España

Buyer's Guides

• Best road bikes
• Best gravel bikes
• Best smart turbo trainers
• Best cycling computers
• Editor's Choice
• Bike Reviews
• Component Reviews
• Clothing Reviews
• Contact Future's experts
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Cookies policy
• Advertise with us

Cycling Weekly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

• Milano Cortina 2026
• Brisbane 2032
• Olympic Refuge Foundation
• Olympic Games
• Olympic Channel
• Let's Move

Yves Lampaert stuns Wout van Aert to win stage 1 at Tour de France 2022 - Results

Find out what happened in the 13.4km time trial on the roads of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Yves Lampaert (Belgium) opened road cycling 's 2022 Tour de France in style.

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider won the 13.2km rain-drenched opening time trial around the central streets of Copenhagen on Friday (1 July) in a time of 15 minutes and 17 seconds to claim the leader's yellow jersey.

The 31-year-old bumped his compatriot Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) off the top spot by five seconds. Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) is seven seconds behind in third. Italy's time trial world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) sits in fourth.

"My mind is exploding," said Lampaert after the biggest win of his career. "I came with the expectation that a top-10 finish would be great. Now I beat all the best riders in the world. I'm just a farmer's son from Belgium. I never expected it."

On Saturday the peloton will remain in Denmark: the 202.2km-stage from Roskilde to Nyborg features some modest climbs and winds could have an impact on the race.

Here is everything you need to know about this year's Tour de France.

2022 Tour de France: Stage 1 Results - Friday 1 July

• Yves Lampaert (Belgium) 15.17
• Wout van Aert (Belgium) 15.22
• Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) 15.24
• Filippo Ganna (Italy) 15.27
• Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) 15.30
• Mads Pedersen (Denmark) 15.32,4550
• Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) 15.32,9250
• Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) 15.33
• Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) 15.34
• Dylan Teuns (Belgium) 15.37

Schedule: Day-by-day route of 2022 Tour de France

Fri 1 July: Stage 1 – Copenhagen-Copenhagen (time trial, 13.2 km)

Sat 2 July: Stage 2 – Roskilde-Nyborg (202.5 km)

Sun 3 July: Stage 3 – Vejle-Sonderborg (182 km)

Mon 4 July: Transfer Day

Tue 5 July: Stage 4 – Dunkerque-Calais (171.5 km)

Wed 6 July: Stage 5 – Lille Metropole-Arenburg Porte du Hainaut (157 km)

Thu 7 July: Stage 6 – Binche-Longwhy (220km)

Fri 8 July: Stage 7 – Tomblaine-La Super Planche de Belle Filles (176.5 km)

Sat 9 July: Stage 8 – Dole-Lausanne (186.5km)

Sunday 10 July: Stage 9 – Aigle-Chatel les Portes du Soleil (193km)

Monday 11 July: Rest Day

Tuesday 12 July: Stage 10 – Morzine Les Portes du Soleil-Megeve (148.5km)

Wednesday 13 July: Stage 11 – Albertville-Col du Granon Serre Chevalier (152km)

Thursday 14 July: Stage 12 – Briancon-Alpe d’Huez (165.5km)

Friday 15 July: Stage 13 – Le Bourg d’Oisans-Saint Etienne (193km)

Saturday 16 July: Stage 14 – Saint Etienne-Mende (192.5km)

Sunday 17 July: Stage 15 – Rodez-Carcassonne (202.5km)

Monday 18 July: Rest Day

Tuesday 19 July: Stage 16 – Carcassonne-Foix (178,5km)

Wednesday 20 July: Stage 17 – Saint-Gaudens-Peyragudes (130km)

Thursday 21 July: Stage 18 – Lourdes-Hautacam (143.5km)

Friday 22 July: Stage 19 – Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors (188.5km)

Saturday 23 July: Stage 20 – Lacapelle-Marival - Rocamadour (time trial, 40.7km)

Sunday 24 July: Stage 21 – Paris La Defence Arena – Paris Champs Elysees (116km)

Related content

Jai Hindley crowned 2022 Giro d'Italia winner as Matteo Sobrero takes stage 21 in Verona - Results

Tadej pogacar: five facts about the 2021 tour de france winner who is heading to japan for the olympics, tadej pogacar completes superb solo victory in strade bianche, tadej pogacar wins 2021 il lombardia in thrilling sprint finish, tadej pogacar wins 2021 liege-bastogne-liege - results.

Yves Lampaert wins Tour de France opening stage

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Orange County
• Things to Do

Breaking News

Lakers legend and clippers executive jerry west dies at age 86, two-time defending champion tadej pogacar finishes third as the race kicked off friday in copenhagen.

Pogacar placed ahead of his Slovenian countryman and main rival Primoz Roglic, the 2020 runner-up, who was eighth in the time trial.

Lampaert is a former world champion in team time trial but this was his first stage win at the three-week Tour. He clocked 15 minutes, 17 seconds on the 13-kilometer (eight-mile) route around Copenhagen.

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider was five seconds ahead of countryman Wout van Aert – Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma teammate – and seven ahead of Pogacar, who leads UAE Team Emirates. Pogacar was nine seconds clear of Roglic.

Lampaert could scarcely believe it when he realized he won, wiping away tears and putting his hands on his mouth.

The rain was teeming when Roglic finished under grey skies shortly after 4:30 p.m., and still lashing when Pogacar set off around 40 minutes later. Even though he is a specialist in the wet, Pogacar looked cautious taking the first turn.

It might have cost him victory.

Riders set off to loud cheers.

“There was so much noise you could hardly hear anything in the earpiece,” French rider David Gaudu said.

The noise level went up again when local rider Jonas Vingegaard – Roglic’s teammate and the Tour runner-up last year – rolled down the start ramp. He placed seventh, one second ahead of Roglic.

Large parts of the Danish capital were shut down. The wet roads made the route treacherous – especially the section across the square of Amalienborg Palace, the main residence of Denmark’s royal family, which is paved with cobblestones.

Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger fell off twice, but continued.

The stage went past the city’s other best known landmarks, including the Little Mermaid statue, sitting on her perch at the entrance of the harbor.

Among the thousands of fans, some waving the red-and-white Danish flag, was Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

“I grew up with my dad being glued to the television screen to watch Tour de France,” Frederiksen said.

Earlier, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik rode the route.

“It is great to see the great support for the Tour at home,” said the 54-year-old Frederik, sporting a helmet, shorts and a T-shirt. The palace also published Instagram vintage photos of Danish royals riding bicycles, including Frederik’s great grandfather, King Christian X and the current Queen Margrethe.

There are two more stages in Denmark this weekend, including crossing the Great Belt Bridge that links the Zealand island, where Copenhagen sits, and the central isle of Funen.

The first start in Denmark – but the 24th time the race has started outside of France – was supposed to be held in 2021 but postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the Danish stages, the riders travel to France with a stage between Dunkerque and Calais.

The race ends in Paris on July 24.

Meanwhile, police have been closely investigating the Bahrain Victorious team and seized more than 450 capsules of unidentified substances at a house in Slovenia during raids across Europe, the European agency Eurojust said Friday.

Riders and staff had their homes raided and the team’s hotel in Denmark was searched this week.

• Newsroom Guidelines
• Report an Error

More in Sports

Lakers | Lakers legend and Clippers executive Jerry West dies at age 86

Lakers | Swanson: Denied by Dan Hurley, the Lakers’ next coach can’t be JJ Redick

SUBSCRIBER ONLY

Los angeles angels | angels lose ugly game to diamondbacks.

Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers dismantle Rangers with 5 homers in 15-run outburst

BEST WEEK EVER

Try out unlimited access with 7 days of Outside+ for free.

Start Your Free Trial

Powered by Outside

Tour de Suisse: Mark Cavendish Set for Key Pre-Tour de France Test Monday, Yves Lampaert Wins Opening TT

Belgian into first race leader’s jersey while manxman readies himself for first of two sprint stages..

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

With less than three weeks to go until the start of his final Tour de France, Mark Cavendish will look to chase a stage victory on Monday or Tuesday in the Tour de Suisse .

The Manxman got the race underway on Sunday, netting 58th in a prologue won by the Belgian Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step). His goal was to loosen up for the upcoming two sprint stages, which will take the riders to Regensdorf on Monday and Rüschlikon Tuesday.

As for Lampaert, Sunday’s flat 4.77km was very much a goal in itself. He was an early starter in the race and set a time of 5:05 to top the leaderboard.

Hours later he had won, seeing off challenges from many other riders. These included Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Easy Post) and Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) who were second and third. They were both fractionally over three seconds slower.

Joâo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) was best of the GC riders in fourth.

“It’s a big result for me as I have never expected to beat the Swiss time trial specialists,” Lampaert said. “So that makes me really proud. I am happy for myself and for the team who believed in me. It feels great to get a World Tour victory, it’s something that gives me a lot of confidence.

“The prologue wasn’t easy, but I gave my best and found from the start a good tempo which I could keep until the finish. From that point on, I had to wait quite a lot in the hot seat, but it was worth it.”

He will wear the race leader’s jersey on Monday, becoming the first Belgian in eight years to do so.

“It’s an honour to have the yellow jersey in a prestigious race such as the Tour de Suisse,” he said.

As is the case with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is one of two top preparation races for the Tour de France, as well as being very prestigious events in their own right.

Many strong GC riders are present, and so too some of the world’s best sprinters.

Cavendish is one of those, and will be up against the likes of Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech), Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) and others in the two expected sprint stages on Monday and Tuesday.

Both are likely harder than he would prefer, with Monday’s leg including two early category two climbs, constantly undulating roads and a category three ascent peaking 11km from the finish.

However while he has said that he is in Switzerland primarily to hone his climbing form, he will also grab any opportunity for a morale-boosting stage victory along the way.

Thus far he has clocked up just two victories this season, with this statistic underlining how much a win would confirm he is on track.

Tuesday’s third stage is also a little tricky, with early flat roads being followed by three category three climbs inside the final 40km.

Still, if he does manage to contest the expected reduced bunch sprints – and even more so if he wins one – it will show that he is in strong form in advance of what is almost certainly his last Tour de France.

He was due to retire last year but crashed out of that race and later decided to return in 2024.

Cavendish is level with Eddy Merckx on 34 stage wins and is trying to secure what would be an all-time record of 35.

Meanwhile his Astana Qazaqstan squad is trying to get its own momentum fully up to speed, with just six victories to its credit this season.

Popular on Velo

What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France? Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view.

Related content from the Outside Network

One way south, mountain bikers react to their first taste of non-alcoholic craft beer, video review: bmc urs 01 two gravel bike, kiel reijnen vuelta video diary: the painful decision to abandon.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.

https://www.barrons.com/news/lampaert-the-prince-of-liechtenstein-as-swiss-tour-rolls-out-04d137b0

• FROM AFP NEWS

Lampaert The Prince Of Liechtenstein As Swiss Tour Rolls Out

• Order Reprints
• Print Article

Belgian Yves Lampaert won a pancake flat opening day time-trial of the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday, before the race moves into the mountains.

The Soudal rider Lampaert is a former Belgian champion and won the Tour de France opener in Denmark in 2022.

He completed the almost totally flat 4.8km course with only three corners to negotiate in 5min 05sec, with the stage raced mainly along the Rhine River in Liechtenstein.

The race is the final warm-up stage race before the Tour de France and of the riders present there are several who have placed in the top three at the Grande Boucle.

Adam Yates was the fastest of those at 15sec, with 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal at 18sec and Richard Carapaz at 23sec.

There is only one flat stage, one hilly one and four mountain slogs before a final day individual time-trial.

French tyro Lenny Martinez is at 19sec and last year's champion Mattias Skjelmose sits 11sec down.

In the 2023 edition, Swiss rider Gino Maeder lost his life after a freak fall coming downhill.

An error has occurred, please try again later.

This article has been sent to

• Cryptocurrencies
• Stock Picks
• Barron's Live
• Barron's Stock Screen
• Personal Finance
• Advisor Directory

Memberships

• Subscribe to Barron's
• Saved Articles
• Newsletters
• Video Center

Customer Service

• Customer Center
• The Wall Street Journal
• MarketWatch
• Investor's Business Daily
• Mansion Global
• Financial News London

For Business

• Corporate Subscriptions

For Education

• Investing in Education

For Advertisers

• Press & Media Inquiries
• Advertising
• Subscriber Benefits
• Manage Notifications
• Manage Alerts

About Barron's

• Live Events

Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.

As it happened: Breakaway triumphs as Yates take GC control on Tour de Suisse stage 4

Tour de suisse 2024, latest news from the race.

Tour de Suisse stage 4: Torstein Træen fends off Adam Yates for solo summit victory

Tour de Suisse: Thibau Nys continues run of results with stage 3 victory

2024 tour de suisse results.

Stage 2: Bryan Coquard wins stage 2 sprint / As it happened

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) powered to his first victory of the season on stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse, jumping away from Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) in the final 150 metres as the Belgian suffered the most untimely mechanical when starting his sprint. De Lie managed to restring and take third behind the Frenchman and Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla).

Stage 1: Yves Lampaert wins stage 1 time trial / As it happened

Yves Lampaert  (Soudal-QuickStep) clocked a time of 5:05 on the flat 4.77 km course in Vaduz to win the opening stage and take the first yellow jersey of the 2024 Tour de Suisse. Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Easy Post) was second, three seconds slower and Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) in third place.

About the Tour de Suisse

Taking place June 9-16, 2024 the 87th Tour de Suisse is all about the mountains. Like its counterpart held in France, Critérium du Dauphiné , the Tour de Suisse is also used by pro teams and riders as a tuneup for the Tour de France .

Last year, Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) won stage 3 on the summit finish at Villars-sur-Ollon and claimed his first WorldTour stage race. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), winner of two stages, finished second overall,  nine seconds back. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) was third.

Team Ineos Grenadiers won the three editions of the race, from 2019 to 2022.  In 2022, Geraint Thomas overhauled leader Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) in the stage 8 time trial to take the overall victory. Thomas went on to finish third at the Tour de France.

In 2021, Richard Carapaz took over the race lead following his stage 5 victory. The Ecuadorian then held onto his lead through the final three stages, including a mountainous final stage to Andermatt, to win the overall title. Carapaz finished third that year at the Tour.

Egan Bernal won the Tour de Suisse in 2019  and went on to win the Tour de France that year.

The Tour de Suisse, first raced in 1933, did not take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Before Bernal, the last Tour winner to ride in Switzerland as preparation for the Tour had been 2010 winner Andy Schleck, with the Critérium du Dauphiné often favoured as it allows for a longer recovery.

Slovakian Peter Sagan has the most stage wins, with 18, but never took the overall title. Three riders are tied with 11 stage wins, and they all came away with overall victories - the 2009 overall winner Fabian Cancellara, three-time winner Hugo Koblet (1950, 1953, 1955) and three-time champion Ferdinand Kübler (1942, 1948, 1951). Italian Pasquale Fornara is the leader in both number of overall victories, four times in the 1950s, and has spent the most days in the leader’s jersey, 17. 

Join Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2024 Tour de Suisse   with race reports, results, photo galleries, news and race analysis.

Tour de Suisse route

The 97th edition of the Tour de Suisse is one for the climbers, with four mountain finishes and a mountain time trial on the final stage.

Read more about the 950km route with almost 19,000 metres of elevation gain over eight days .

Data powered by FirstCycling

Tour de Suisse Schedule

Tour de suisse teams.

• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Arkea-B&B Hotels
• Astana Qazaqstan Team
• Bahrain Victorious
• Bora-hansgrohe
• Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
• EF Education - EasyPost
• Groupama-FDJ
• INEOS Grenadiers
• Intermarché - Wanty
• Movistar Team
• Soudal Quick-Step
• Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL
• Team Jayco AlUla
• Team Visma - Lease a Bike
• UAE Team Emirates
• Israel-Premier Tech
• Lotto-Dstny
• Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
• Tudor Pro Cycling Team
• Corratec – Vini Fantini
• Swiss National Team

About the Critérium du Dauphiné

2024 Tour de Suisse – Analysing the contenders

• Tour de Suisse 2024 route
• Tour de Suisse past winners

• Stage 5 | Ambri - Carí 2024-06-13 148.8km
• Stage 6 | Locarno - Blatten-Belalp 2024-06-14 151.2km
• Stage 7 | Villars-sur-Ollon - Villars-sur-Ollon 2024-06-15 118.7km
• Stage 8 | Aigle - Villars-sur-Ollon (ITT) 2024-06-16 15.7kms

Latest Content on the Race

Tour de Suisse 2024 start list

By Cycling News last updated 11 June 24

Start list Official start list for 2024 Tour de Suisse

Nairo Quintana abandons Tour de Suisse after breaking hand in stage 2 crash

By Barry Ryan published 11 June 24

News Colombian had not been scheduled to ride Tour de France

Emanuel Buchmann breaks collarbone and hip in Tour de Suisse crash

By Simone Giuliani published 11 June 24

News Bora-Hansgrohe rider will need to undergo surgery for both injuries

How to watch the 2024 Tour de Suisse – Live streaming

By Peter Stuart last updated 10 June 24

News Egan Bernal, Mattias Skjelmose, Lenny Martinez and more in action in Switzerland

Egan Bernal - ‘I still don't know if I’ll do the Tour de France’

By Alasdair Fotheringham published 9 June 24

News Colombian returns to Tour de Suisse as last warm-up race before possible start in France

2024 Tour de Suisse queen stage shortened due to snowpack

By Laura Weislo published 7 June 24

News 151.1-kilometre stage shortened to just 42.5 kilometres to avoid Nufenenpass

By Simone Giuliani published 6 June 24

Analysis Skjelmose defends his title against rivals including Bernal, Martinez, Carapaz and more in Switzerland

Tour de Suisse to remember Gino Mäder with special mountain prize and memorial ride

By Dani Ostanek published 30 May 24

News Mountain time trial ride on June 16 as #RideForGino prize awarded on the race's highest climb

Neilson Powless returns from knee injury in time for 'nice steady build for the Tour'

By Simone Giuliani published 1 May 24

News EF Education-EasyPost rider to resume racing at Eschborn-Frankfurt Wednesday, also returning to US to race Nationals

Pinot: ‘First I have to win Nationals’ before deciding about delaying retirement

By Alasdair Fotheringham published 24 June 23

news Frenchman had promised to continue for six more months if crowned national champion

Top News on the Race

Wout van Aert hopes for 'another step forward' ahead of Tour de France

Remco Evenepoel – 'This was the best way to honour Gino'

Bahrain Victorious among teams withdrawing from final stages of Tour de Suisse

Tour de Suisse to resume for final stages following death of Gino Mäder

Tour de Suisse peloton pays poignant tribute to Gino Mäder

Tour de Suisse stage 6 start shifted due to Brienz rock avalanche

Related features.

Obituary: Gino Mäder, a rider apart

Preview: Five questions for the 2023 Tour de Suisse

10 riders to watch at the 2023 Tour de Suisse

9 riders to watch at the 2022 Tour de Suisse

5 riders to watch at the 2021 men's Tour de Suisse

Tour de France 2024 – Comprehensive team-by-team guide

A s the 2024 Tour de France rolls out from Florence, Italy on June 29, there will be 176 riders competing across 22 teams – some with a target on overall victory, others looking for stage wins and more still pleased with any opportunity that comes along their way to gather publicity on the biggest cycling stage in the world. 

All 18 WorldTour teams, plus the two best-ranked ProTeams – Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto-Dstny – got their automatic invitations to race while organisers ASO handed out wild card entries to Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies.

Crashes, form and Olympic goals have shaped the selections and ambitions for the teams but regardless all will be fighting to make an impression as the 21 days of racing over 3497.3km from Tuscany to Nice in the south of France unfolds.

Cyclingnews has pored through every squad, assessing their leaders, objectives and chances of success to bring you this comprehensive team-by-team guide.

Alpecin-Deceuninck

• Team leader: Jasper Philipsen
• Objective: Stage wins, points classification
• Rider to watch: Mathieu van der Poel

In the bunch sprints of the Grand Tours of recent years, one team has stood out above the rest as masters of the lead-out train: Alpecin-Deceuninck .

They were a prominent presence throughout the bunch finishes at the recent Giro d’Italia, but Kaden Groves wasn’t able to ride them to victory. However, at the Tour de France, the team will have Jasper Philipsen , the quickest sprinter in the peloton.

Philipsen was one of the stars of last year’s Tour, storming to four stage wins (as many as any sprinter has managed at a single Tour since the 2011 edition), as well as riding consistently enough to claim the green jersey. He didn't slow down this spring, either, with victories at Milan-San Remo and the Classic Brugge-De Panne, as well as a second place at Paris-Roubaix, among his very impressive results.

Not only is Philipsen the quickest sprinter in the race, but he’ll also have the quickest lead-out man riding for him in Mathieu van der Poel . The pair work brilliantly together, as seen not just at last year’s Tour sprints, but also during the spring, when Van der Poel helped Philipsen to triumph at Milan-San Remo, and vice versa at Paris-Roubaix.

Van der Poel will also go hunting for stage wins on appropriate stages, most likely on days with punchy parcours too hard for sprinters but not hard enough for climbers. For a man so untouchable in the Classics, it’s perhaps surprising that he only has one stage win to his name from three Tour appearances, but he has often ridden here with a future goal in mind, as will be the case this year as he builds towards the Olympics.

Arkéa-B&B Hotels

• Team leader: Arnaud Démare
• Objective: Stage wins
• Rider to watch: Kévin Vauquelin

With Warren Barguil having followed Nairo Quintana out the door, Arkéa-B&B Hotels are going in a fresh direction for the 2024 Tour with sprinter Arnaud Démare as their new talisman.

Having grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of opportunities provided him by his former Groupama-FDJ team, who selected him for only one Tour de France start in the last five years, Démare has moved to a team where he won’t just be picked but will command unified support behind him.

It’s hoped that as a winner of two Tour stages in the past, Démare can deliver the team their long-awaited first-ever following ten winless Tours, but does the Frenchman have the shape to do so? He hasn’t made the top ten of any race for almost four months, and recently fractured a finger at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, plunging his Tour preparations into doubt.

It could therefore be up to others in the line-up to deliver, from which Kévin Vauquelin has shown particular potential. The 23-year-old has done everything this year, from making the top 10 at both Itzulia Basque Country and Tirreno-Adriatico, finishing second on the Mur de Huy at La Flèche Wallonne and winning a time trial at Etoile de Bessèges. He could be a contender for a variety of different stages though specialises in climbing hills and mountains.

Astana Qazaqstan

• Team leader: Mark Cavendish
• Rider to watch: Alexey Lutsenko

At last, it's nearly time for the race that Astana Qazaqstan 's whole season has been building up towards.

Since signing Mark Cavendish in January 2023, they've made it their foremost mission to deliver the Manxman to the elusive win number 35, move clear of Eddy Merckx, and thereby become the outright record holder for most stage wins at the Tour de France.

It had initially been intended as a one-year plan, but after the heartbreak of last year’s race, where Cavendish crashed out at the end of the first week , he and the team have decided to have one last shot at history this July.

Unlike last year, when he went into the Tour off the back of a final-day victory in Rome at the Giro d’Italia, Cavendish has shown only sporadic signs of form this season, confined to smaller races. He won a stage during his first race of the season at the Tour of Colombia in February but had to wait another three months for a first victory on European roads at the Tour of Hongrie.

The Astana team is set to be built entirely around him. Veteran lead-out master Michael Mørkøv was signed exclusively to deliver him in the sprints, while Cees Bol and Davide Ballerini will sacrifice their own sprinting ambitions to form part of his lead-out train.

One rider who might be granted some freedom to ride for himself is Alexey Lutsenko . He showed great form by winning Il Giro d’Abruzzo before abandoning the Giro d’Italia and finishing seventh and eighth on GC in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He has two Tour de France GC top 10s, as well as a stage win in 2020, on his palmarès, so another top showing isn't out of the question.

Bahrain Victorious

• Team leaders: Pello Bilbao
• Objective: GC, stage wins
• Riders to watch: Santiago Buitrago, Matej Mohorič

What Bahrain Victorious lacks in a single stand-out GC contender, they make up for in strength in depth. Following Antonio Tiberi’s fifth place at the Giro d’Italia, they’re hoping to extend their run of top-six finishes on GC to a fifth consecutive Grand Tour and have several riders potentially capable of doing so.

Their best candidate is Pello Bilbao , based on his performance at the Tour last year and in stage races so far in 2024. He was sixth place last year and has been building nicely towards that level again this year with sixth-place finishes at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Itzulia Basque Country, plus third at the UAE Tour in between.

Santiago Buitrago is poised to make his Tour debut. He brings with him considerable expectations off the back of his stage wins and top-ten finish at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, respectively, as well as his impressive showing at Paris-Nice earlier this year.

It’s also hoped that Jack Haig can rediscover some form ahead of the race, while even veteran Wout Poels could post a high GC finish based on his recent third and sixth-place finishes at the Tour de Hongrie and Tour of the Alps, respectively.

Poels and Bilbao were two of the three different riders to win a stage at last year’s Tour, along with Matej Mohorič, who will again be using his nous and engine to target breakaways. The Slovenian has three Tour stage wins on his career palmarès and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him add another win here.

With Phil Bauhaus , a debutant last summer, also posing a threat in the bunch sprints, Bahrain Victorious has the resources to target a win on almost every stage.

• Team leaders: Guillaume Martin
• Riders to watch: Bryan Coquard, Ion Izagirre.

For the first time in many years, Cofidis can go into a Tour de France without being badgered about questions of whether this will be the year they at last manage to claim a stage win.

By triumphing on stage 2 of last year’s edition, Victor Lafay ended the team’s 15-year drought and then Ion Izagirre added another stage a week later.

Lafay has since left for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale but Izagirre remains and is set to ride, with stage wins on hilly and mountainous days again likely to be the target.

Guillaume Martin will ride his eighth consecutive Tour de France and will be the team’s leading GC hope. He’s placed eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th in past appearances, but has never won a stage, so he may prioritise trying to take one from a breakaway.

Bryan Coquard is another rider without a Tour stage win to his name despite many near misses, including a couple of fourth-place finishes last year. He’ll be the team’s man for the bunch sprints, especially on hillier days that weaken the specialists.

While these riders bring experience, 25-year-old Axel Zingle has form and potential. He’s been consistently in contention for multiple semi-Classics over the last few months and could win from a breakaway if he picks the right move.

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale

• Team leader: Felix Gall
• Rider to watch: Sam Bennett, Benoît Cosnefroy

In the middle of an exceptional season, in which they have already racked up more victories than they managed in the last two seasons combined, expectations are high for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale as they head into the biggest race of the year.

Although the men who delivered stage wins (Valentin Paret-Peintre and Andrea Vendrame) and fourth overall (Ben O’Connor) at the Giro d’Italia will sit this one out as they rest and recover, the core of the other names who have made 2024 such a success are set to be present.

Benoît Cosnefroy has been the team’s biggest contributor with seven of their 23 wins (as of the end of May) and will target the hilly stages, while Dorion Godon will be a candidate in reduced bunch sprints, having won two sprint finishes at the Tour de Romandie in late April.

In the pure flat finishes, Sam Bennett will still be their main candidate, having recently shown signs of returning to form with a haul of wins and GC at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque.

Felix Gall might have had a quieter season to date, but he'll still be the team’s main man for the mountains and their GC candidate.  He finished eighth overall last year after breaking through with a series of good performances in the spring, while he'll also be hoping to replicate his breakaway stage win at Courchevel.

DSM-Firmenich PostNL

• Team leader: Fabio Jakobsen, Romain Bardet
• Rider to watch: Warren Barguil

For the Tour de France, DSM-Firmenich PostNL are making the unusual move of deploying the same two leaders as they did at the Giro d’Italia.

In the bunch sprints, Fabio Jakobsen will again line up as he continues to rediscover his mojo. The Dutchman still only has one win to his name (at the Tour of Turkey) since signing for the team this year, and he failed to get involved in the Giro bunch sprints before abandoning during the second week. However, the team still retains faith that he can reach the level that saw him win a stage on his Tour debut two years ago.

Romain Bardet fared better at the Giro than Jakobsen, finishing ninth overall while coming close to a stage win on Bocca della Selva. Though he has made the top 10 in all but two of the eight Tours he has finished throughout his career, his excursions in Italy may mean he targets stage wins this time instead.

With 11 wins to their name – including just one WorldTour race and only three outside the Tour of Turkey – DSM need some big results. That means that another French climber, Warren Barguil , will likely be given the freedom to attack and get into breakaways.

EF Education-EasyPost

• Team leader: Richard Carapaz
• Rider to watch: Neilson Powless, Ben Healy

Last season was the first in EF Education-Easy Post ’s 16-year history that they did not place a rider in the top 10 of any of the Grand Tours. That run continued at the Giro d’Italia last month, where they aggressively targeted stage wins rather than GC via constant attacks, and were eventually rewarded in the final week with success from Georg Steinhauser in the Dolomites.

Nevertheless, they intend to strive to finish as high as possible at the Tour with Richard Carapaz as their leader. The 2021 podium finisher and 2019 Giro champion was signed in 2023 to do precisely that but he endured an under-par season last year and is only just showing signs of some form recently, with a stage win and seventh overall at the Tour de Romandie. 

With Carapaz’s form still uncertain, there ought to be plenty of scope for the rest of the line-up to chase their own personal ambitions. Neilson Powless , for instance, could either chase GC as he did in 2023 (when he finished 12th), or stage wins and the polka-dot jersey as he did last year.

Irish puncheur Ben Healy is set to make his Tour debut, and if his Giro debut from last year and performances in the Classics are anything to go by, we can expect him to attack at every opportunity.

Alberto Bettiol ’s form during the spring suggests he could add a Tour stage win to the one he managed at the 2021 Giro, while Marijn van den Berg has also earned a spot on the team thanks to his impressive early season performances.

Groupama-FDJ

• Team leader: David Gaudu
• Rider to watch: Stefan Küng

A new dawn awaits Groupama-FDJ as they embark upon the first Tour de France of the post-Thibaut Pinot era. Before retiring at the end of last year, Pinot had been the fulcrum of the team, appearing for them in all but two of the last 12 editions — sometimes with great success, other times with great heartbreak.

David Gaudu will seek to fill the void left by Pinot, as he has for several years now. Fourth overall in 2022 remains his highest finish at any Grand Tour, and though a repeat of that looks ambitious given his stuttering form this year, he’s still dreaming of a podium finish.

If Gaudu doesn’t have the legs to mount a serious GC challenge, targeting stage wins may be the team’s optimum approach, and they have plenty of riders capable of delivering on that front.

Rising star Lenny Martinez misses the race in favour of the Vuelta a España, but 21-year-old Romain Grégoire is set to make his Tour debut on the back of some very impressive results this year, including a stage win at Itzulia Basque Country

Valentin Madouas has become a recognisable face from recent Tours without quite winning a stage, though he certainly has the talent to do so. Stefan Küng will, as ever, be a candidate for both the time trials as well as select breakaways.

Ineos Grenadiers

• Team leaders: Carlos Rodríguez
• Objective: GC
• Rider to watch: Tom Pidcock, Egan Bernal

Last year was only the second time in the last decade that Ineos Grenadiers failed to put a rider on the GC podium at the Tour de France. Even since their run of yellow jersey-winning Tours came to an end in 2020, up until then they had still managed to crack the podium through Richard Carapaz (in 2021) and Geraint Thomas (in 2022), but last year their highest finisher, Carlos Rodríguez , finished further down in fifth place.

Still, that result means Rodríguez is the obvious choice to lead the team’s 2024 GC bid, and the 23-year-old has bolstered his status with overall victory at the Tour de Romandie and second place behind Juan Ayuso at Itzulia Basque Country.

Also in the squad are other, more wildcard options for GC. Geraint Thomas would usually be a dependable candidate, but it’s unclear how fresh he will be, having dug deep to seal third place at the Giro d’Italia , while Tom Pidcock has stated that he intends to concentrate on the GC rather than stage wins, despite failing to make the top ten last year.

And what of Egan Bernal ? The 2019 champion has for the first time since his horror crash two and a half years ago shown form approaching his best, with third overall at Volta a Catalunya and top tens at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, but it remains to be seen if he can manage a sustained GC bid over three weeks.

Michał Kwiatkowski and Laurens De Plus will be on hand to help the aforementioned trio achieve their GC goals, even if the Belgian could harbour ambitions of his own after racing to an unexpected and impressive fifth overall at the Critérium du Daupihiné. 

Intermarché-Wanty

• Team leader: Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes
• Rider to watch: Georg Zimmermann

Biniam Girmay returns to the Tour de France hoping for a positive turn in fortunes. So far his season has been blighted by interruptions, with promising form in the early spring classics halted by a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and another crash spelling the end of his Giro d’Italia one day after finishing third in Fossano.

He’s since returned to winning ways with victory at the Circuit Franco-Belge , and looks on course to arrive at the Tour in form. As Intermarché-Wanty ’s star, the onus is on the Eritrean to make an impact and he has the chance to make history as the first-ever Black African to win a stage of the Tour de France. His consistency and versatility also make him a candidate for the green jersey.

Like Girmay, who failed to show his best self at last year’s Tour, Louis Meintjes will be hoping to return to the form that saw him finish seventh overall in 2022 rather than crash out last year.

Meintjes will be the team’s GC leader, but the rest of the line-up will have the freedom to get into break and chase stage wins, much as Georg Zimmermann (who was second on stage 10) did last year. Rouleurs like Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page might fancy their chances of winning a stage this way, too.

Israel-Premier Tech

• Team leader: Stephen Williams
• Rider to watch: Derek Gee, Pascal Ackermann

Israel-Premier Tech 's high ambitions from 2021, when they gambled on signing Chris Froome in the hope that he could recover from his horror crash two years earlier and revive his Tour-winning form of old, have since been significantly tempered.

Now no longer a WorldTour team, they've instead depended upon a wildcard to earn entry into the Tour de France, and their hopes are limited to chasing stage wins rather than mixing it up in the battle for the yellow jersey.

Froome himself is still fighting for selection. He’s eager to avoid a repeat of last year when he was left out of the Tour line-up, but his hopes of proving himself worthy were compromised when a fractured wrist sustained during Tirreno-Adriatico forced him to miss almost three months of racing.

His compatriot Stephen Williams is enjoying a terrific season, winning both La Flèche Wallonne and the Tour Down Under. He'll therefore be a top contender for stage wins in the hilly terrain.

The team should have a presence in the sprints, where Tour debutant Pascal Ackermann aims to add to his Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España stage wins and complete the Grand Tour clean sweep.

The rest of the line-up will be made up of stage hunters such as Dylan Teuns (who won here in both 2019 and 2021), and Derek Gee . The Canadian, who last year burst onto the scene with a series of breakaway second places at the Giro d'Italia, makes his Tour debut in the form of his life after scoring a stage win and third overall at the Critérium du Dauphné .

Jayco-AlUla

• Team leader: Simon Yates, Dylan Groenewegen
• Riders to watch: Michael Matthews

For a second successive season, Jayco-AlUla leader Simon Yates has foregone his usual Giro d’Italia participation in order to concentrate more committedly on the Tour de France.

Last year, this approach turned out to be a success, as he came to the Tour with some of the best legs of his career, eventually finishing fourth overall, and only missing out on a podium finish by 87 seconds to his brother Adam. His build-up to this year’s Tour isn’t so encouraging, however, having not shown much form since winning the AlUla Tour in the winter.

Jayco-AlUla aren’t putting all their eggs in the single basket of Yates’ GC bid. Dylan Groenewegen will be led out in the sprints by the likes of Luka Mezgec to see if he can add to his five Tour career stage wins, having come close last year with a second and third-place finish at Moulins and Paris, respectively.

On days too hilly for Groenewegen, Michael Matthews will step up, and may also try to get into some breakaways as he did to win a stage in 2022. He looked in fantastic form this spring, placing second at Milan-San Remo and, before being relegated for deviating from his line, third at the Tour of Flanders.

• Team leader: Mads Pedersen, Tao Geoghegan Hart
• Rider to watch: Giulio Ciccone

As a team boasting a diverse range of talent, Lidl-Trek could feasibly compete for all three of the major jerseys.

For the yellow jersey, they have Tao Geoghegan Hart . He’s only done the Tour de France once in his career and is eager to target GC here while still in his prime years. Victory might seem implausible, but that was also the case when he triumphed at the Giro d’Italia in 2020.

Mads Pedersen finished a distant second to Jasper Philipsen in the points classification last year, though he did score his second stage win in as many years. He's shown the kind of excellent form throughout this year to suggest he could bridge that gap, as well as add to his stage win tally.

As for the king of the mountains, Giulio Ciccone won that classification last year and will now be present to potentially defend that title after saddle sore surgery forced him to skip the Giro d’Italia.

Lidl-Trek might even have had a prime candidate for the white jersey if Matias Skjelmose had opted to ride, but he plans to skip the Tour and save himself for a Vuelta a España overall bid instead.

Lotto-Dstny

• Team leader : Arnaud De Lie
• Rider to watch: Maxim Van Gils

Compared to other teams, Lotto-Dstny have a laser-focussed approach when it comes to the Tour de France. Not only will it be their first Grand Tour of the season, having opted out of the Giro d’Italia, but they have also narrow down their ambitions to focus exclusively on stage wins, having not placed a rider in the top 10 for 14 years.

They haven’t had success on these terms recently, though, with no stage win to their name since Caleb Ewan’s victories in the sprints during the 2020 edition. The Australian has led the team for the past five Tours, bringing much success initially with multiple stage wins in 2019 and 2020, but nothing in the three editions since then.

He’s now left the team for Jayco-AlUla, and taking his place as Lotto’s leader will be Arnaud De Lie . Much is hoped from the 22-year-old debutant based on his rapid rise over the past two years, and he'll be especially threatening on hillier days where the pure sprinters will struggle.

However, the Tour will be a big step up from the level of competition he’s used to, and he’s only recently r eturned to form after suffering from Lyme disease during the spring.

De Lie might be the most hyped name, but another young Belgian, Maxim Van Gils , has been the team’s best performer so far this season. He finished second on the stage to Grand Colombier last year and has since established himself as one of the very best puncheurs in the world following podium finishes at Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne, and a fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

2023 super-combativity winner Victor Campanaerts is also set to ride again, though his season to date has been a quiet one.

• Team leader: Enric Mas
• Rider to watch: Rémi Cavagna

2024 has so far been another difficult season for Movistar , with Pelayo Sánchez’s stage victory at the Giro d’Italia their only win at WorldTour level all year.

That doesn’t bode well for their prospects at the Tour de France, where they have, in recent years, laboured to reach the levels of the past. They’ve now gone two successive Tours without placing a rider in the top 10, having done so in eight of the nine previous editions.

If any of their roster is to break that duck, it’ll be Enric Mas . The Spaniard has generally been one of the most dependable GC riders of his generation, making the top six in six of his last eight Grand Tour appearances.

However, he has been forced to abandon both of his last two Tours de France, with his participation last summer ending on the first day following a crash.

So far, Mas has enjoyed a solid season without causing too much of a stir, finishing fifth overall at Volta a Catalunya and sixth at the Tour de Romandie. Considering that he normally ups his game for the Grand Tours, that’s encouraging.

New signing Rémi Cavagna is a dependable name in the time trials, breakaways and in helping team leaders on the flat, though the Frenchman hasn't scored a WorldTour win of his own since 2021. Returning star Nairo Quintana won't make the race, meanwhile, after breaking his hand in a crash at the Tour de Suisse.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

• Team leaders: Primož Roglič
• Riders to watch: Jai Hindley, Aleksandr Vlasov

For the 2024 season, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe signed Primož Roglič with the primary objective of winning the Tour de France.

The team might never before have made the podium at any previous edition in their 10-year history, but Roglič has the calibre to challenge for yellow, as well as the desire, having moved from Visma-Lease a Bike for that specific purpose.

The Slovenian has left it to the last minute to show the kind of form he'll need to challenge for the yellow jersey, with his Critérium du Dauphiné victory his best showing of 2024 so far. The week-long warm-up race marked his first race since the heavy crash suffered by him, Remco Evenepoel, and Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country.

His two stage wins at the late summit finishes at Le Collet d'Allevard and Samöens 1600 were his first since the opening day at Itzulia, though a shaky final stage showing – where he shed almost a minute to Matteo Jorgenson and only held onto yellow by eight seconds – could provoke some cause for concern. 

Roglič’s presence means last year’s leader Jai Hindley — who enjoyed a day in the yellow jersey after winning stage five in Laruns before back pain contributed to a slip down to seventh on GC — will be demoted to the role of super-domestique.

While Hindley’s form has tailed away since his impressive third-place finish at Tirreno-Adriatico, Aleksandr Vlasov might believe he has the results to justify potential co-leadership status. With a second place at Tour de Romandie, sixth at Volta a Catalunya and fifth at Paris-Nice, he has been among the team's top performers this year. At the Dauphiné, he proved a reliable and strong deputy for Roglič.

Elsewhere, the rest of the team is geared exclusively towards targeting the yellow jersey, with Champs-Elysées-winning sprinter Jordi Meeus missing out on selection as the team looks to domestiques Danny van Poppel , Nico Denz , Marco Haller , Matteo Sobrero , and Bob Jungels .

Soudal-QuickStep

• Team leader: Remco Evenepoel
• Rider to watch: Mikel Landa, Ilan Van Wilder

In a drastic change of approach, Soudal-QuickStep have abandoned their usual Tour de France strategy of targeting bunch sprints and stage wins, and instead are going all in on Remco Evenepoel ’s push for GC.

This is set to be Evenepoel’s debut Tour, and it’s a hugely anticipated one, given the already enormous star profile he’s built for himself through many superb performances and major results including two Liège–Bastogne–Liège victories, the world title in 2022, and the GC at the Vuelta a España that same year.

His build-up has been compromised after a crash and fractured collarbone at Itzulia Basque Country stalled the momentum that had already seen him win Volta ao Algarve and finish second at Paris-Nice, but the plan remains the same.

His first race back, the Critérium du Dauphiné, saw him score a dominant time trial win, though he faded hard in the closing three mountain stages, losing 2:58 to Primož Roglič. That will be a major cause for concern heading into July.

As part of the team building around Evenepoel, Mikel Landa has been signed up as a super-domestique. The Spaniard has performed this role in the past – at Sky to help Chris Froome win the 2017 Tour de France, and at Movistar for Richard Carapaz’s 2019 Giro d’Italia triumph. Second at Volta a Catalunya and 10th at the Dauphiné suggests he has the legs to do something similar this year, too

Landa will be joined by Evenepoel’s familiar right-hand man, Ilan Van Wilder . The Belgian has ridden in support of Evenepoel many times, most notably during his triumphant Vuelta a España effort two years ago and should be in solid form, too, having placed fourth at the Tour de Romandie.

The team’s focus on GC means there will be no room for in-form sprinter Tim Merlier, despite his success at the Giro d’Italia, nor even home favourite Julian Alaphilippe, as the remaining spots instead go to domestiques including Yves Lampaert , Casper Pedersen , Louis Vervaeke and Gianni Moscon .

TotalEnergies

• Team leader: Mathieu Burgaudeau
• Rider to watch: Steff Cras

When TotalEnergies signed Peter Sagan for the 2022 season, they hoped the Slovakian would be the star name to make them protagonists at the Tour de France. His first edition for them was typically consistent, finishing in the top six of five different stages, but lacking the edge of his heyday; by the following year his powers had seriously waned, and he only made the top ten once.

Sagan now having retired, the team must embark on a new direction. They’ve struggled at the Tour in recent years, and haven’t won a stage since Lilian Calmejane in 2017.

It will be hard for them to break that duck this year. Of the four non-WorldTour entries, they probably have the weakest roster, as reflected by the fact that they’d only won three races this season as of the beginning of June.

Consequently, they’re strategy will be to buy daily tickets in the lottery that is getting into the breakaway. Mathieu Burgaudeau is a particular specialist at this, having finished second and third on stages of last year’s race, and placed second in the King of the Mountains classification at this year’s Paris-Nice riding similarly aggressively.

The likes of Pierre Latour, Anthony Turgis, Geoffrey Soupe and Alexis Vuillermoz all provide experienced options for TotalEnergies to potentially select. And though the team don’t tend to target GC anymore, Stef Cras ’ 11th place finish at the Vuelta a España last year suggests he could become their first rider to crack the top ten since Pierre Rolland in 2015 — although his participation remains up in the air due to his involvement in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country.

UAE Team Emirates

• Team leaders: Tadej Pogačar
• Rider to watch: Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso

Phase one of UAE Team Emirates ’ great ambition to win the Giro/Tour double this year with Tadej Pogačar was a success, with the Slovenian waltzing to an enormous victory at the first Grand Tour . Now, it’s time for the hard part.

Pogačar won the Giro at a canter, almost 10 minutes clear of second place as he won a staggering six stages without ever appearing to have to stretch himself. But at the Tour, he’ll be up against a much stronger field of GC candidates, none of whom have the accumulated fatigue of having already completed a Grand Tour this season – even if Evenepoel, Roglič, and Vingegaard are all making comebacks from that brutal Itzulia crash.

UAE Team Emirates provided ample support to him at the Giro, with Rafał Majka and Vegard Stake Laengen impressing in particular, but the team is set to ring in the changes with an all-new line-up at the Tour.

On paper, it’s a much stronger group of riders. In Adam Yates , they have the man who finished third last summer, even if his form this year is in more doubt having performed only in patches since winning the UAE Tour in February. Juan Ayuso provides another potential GC option, making his Tour debut on the back of a podium finish at the Vuelta a España and overall victory at Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year. 

More climbing firepower will come from João Almeida , another rider who would slot in as a GC leader at most of the other teams in the peloton. Elsewhere, Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler bolster the climbing line-up along with Tim Wellens and Nils Politt , the latter pairing set to feature in the engine room during flatter stages.

The team will be hoping Ayuso, Sivakov, Wellens, and Politt recover well from a mass spill at the Critérium du Dauphiné, with Ayuso forced out of the race with pain in both hips as a result.

Uno-X Mobility

• Team leader: Alexander Kristoff
• Riders to watch: Andreas Leknessund, Magnus Cort

After making a successful Tour de France debut last year, Uno-X Mobility have been invited back by ASO as a wild card entry again.

Last year, they impressed by being active in the breakaways, with Tobias Halland Johannessen enjoying particular success with three top-six finishes. He’s set to return this year and on the back of some good form, too, having finished sixth at La Flèche Wallonne during the spring.

This time, they’ll have more strings to their bow. In new signing Andreas Leknessund , they have a rider capable of challenging for GC, even if he hasn’t yet shown the form this season that saw him finish eighth overall at the Giro d’Italia last year. And Magnus Cort brings considerable experience as a two-time former stage winner at the Tour, and will be dangerous from an intermediate stage break or reduced bunch sprint.

They will also again have Alexander Kristoff for the bunch sprints, who, though poised to turn 37 during the Tour, has been winning regularly this past month or so and could have it in him to add to his four career Tour stage wins. 

But they are also sure to be one of the main presences in the breakaways, with Jonas Abrahamsen posing a particular threat, having recently won the Brussels Cycling Classic that way.

Visma-Lease a Bike

• Team leader: Jonas Vingegaard
• Rider to watch: Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert

As the Tour approaches, Visma-Lease a Bike are still sweating on the fitness of Jonas Vingegaard . The defending champion’s participation was plunged into doubt when he crashed out of Itzulia Basque Country in April and hasn’t raced since. He has recently returned to training at high altitude, though his exact racing level won't become apparent before the Tour.

Given the severity of that fall, the fact he has a genuine chance of returning in time feels miraculous, but doing so with the form to win the yellow jersey again will be an even bigger ask.

Prior to that crash, Vingegaard had started the season in intimidatingly good form, triumphing at both Tirreno-Adriatico and O Gran Camiño while claiming five stage wins in total, and would surely be the overwhelming favourite for yellow were it not for his fitness and form doubts. 

Should the Dane fail to recover in time, it might be up to Sepp Kuss to fill his boots. The peerless climbing super-domestique proved himself as a Grand Tour GC rider by winning the Vuelta a España last year, though he hasn’t shown anything like that form so far this year. On top of that, he abandoned the Critérium du Dauphiné before the final day of racing as he wasn't feeling 100% .

Like Vingegaard, Wout van Aert , too, is a doubt as he tries to recover in time from the injuries that ruled him out of both the Giro d’Italia and the major spring Classics, though he has returned to racing at the Tour of Norway.

He hopes to join other stalwarts of the previous yellow jersey-winning campaigns Tiesj Benoot , Dylan van Baarle and Christophe Laporte . Matteo Jorgenson will make for a very useful addition to the line-up, bringing a diverse range of talents that has this year seen him win Paris-Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen and score a surprising second overall at the Dauphiné.