Frenchman Romain Bardet (Dsm Firmenich Post Nl) won the first stage of the Tour de France 2024, which started for the first time in Italy, from Florence, wearing the yellow jersey of leader of the classification. At the finish line in Rimini, after 206 kilometers of racing with an average difference in altitude of 3600 meters, the Frenchman preceded his teammate Frank Van den Broek, fooling by a few seconds the group that was aiming for the sprint. Third place went to Wout Van Aert, followed by a group of about fifty riders, fourth to Tadej Pogacar.
“A dream finish. It was one of my career goals to wear the yellow jersey one day”. Romain Bardet thus describes the emotion of wearing the symbol of the Tour de France primacy at the end of the first stage, Florence-Rimini, arriving together with his teammate in the Dsm-Firmenich Postnl team, the Dutchman Frank Van der Broeck, resisting the return of the group on the seafront. “It’s the first time – said the Frenchman – that I started the Tour smiling and not devoured by pressure. I knew I had to suffer, I knew the last climbs well, I had nothing to lose. I felt good today. I have no words, Frank would have deserved it. In the end we even had the wind against us. It was incredible”, he told Eurosport microphones.
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