At 12.40 on Saturday 29 June 2024, the 111th edition of the Tour de France officially kicked off, with the Grande Depart from Florence. First Italian stage between Tuscany and Romagna, with nine escapees who immediately liven up the race. On the first climb of the day, the sprinter Cavendish immediately dropped away, who unfortunately is not well and also vomited. Always Giuseppe Martinelli’s Astana even saw the withdrawal of one of the eight Italian cyclists in the race, or Gazzoli. Meanwhile, the fugitives, having reached a maximum advantage of 6 minutes, lost a couple of fellow adventurers on the road and saw their playing time dwindle with the EF Education – Easypost of the Italian champion Bettiol who got to work and did the pace.
Bettiol in Florence (Photo ASO)
70 km from the finish line we climbed Mount Barbotto, the hardest climb of the Nove Colli, on which there is a great celebration and at every meter there is the memory of Marco Pantani. With the fugitives just a matter of minutes away, it was la Uae Team Emirates di Pogacar to put yourself at the head of the group by doing a bit of selection. With around sixty runners remaining, we were expecting the Slovenian to attack, but instead the Frenchman Bardet tries to sprint and get back onto the now frayed treads. With the ascents of Montemaggio, San Leo and San MarinoBardet and his teammate van den Broek, in the breakaway from the start, push hard but the group’s pressure seems to be able to catch them. Instead, even with a few hundred meters of advantage, the Frenchman wears the first yellow jersey. In the final sprint, 5″ behind, Van Aert is third and Pogacar is fourth.
