The first stage of the Tour de France 2024 it was a day full of action and surprises for the team Visma | Lease a Bike. Although they failed to take the victory, the cyclists of the Dutch team showed that they were in excellent shape and could play a leading role in the Grande Boucle.
The day opened with the difficulties of Juan Ayuso of UAE Team Emirates, who forced his team to postpone their attempt to put pressure on Jonas Vingegaardleader of Visma. However, the epilogue of the stage still provided great emotions.
Wout van Aert, one of Visma’s strong points, was the protagonist of a convincing performance, showing a clear recovery compared to the Tour of Norway a month ago. The Belgian faced the numerous climbs and the intense heat with ease, managing to be one of the few riders able to play their cards in the final sprint.
It looked like Van Aert might triumph and take the yellow jersey, but Romain Bardet’s (DSM) surprising attack denied him a stage victory. Despite the disappointment, the Visma rider said he was still satisfied with his performance and confident of having other opportunities during the race.
“This was a big test for us,” Van Aert said. “I didn’t expect to finish this high, but I’m really happy with how I rode today. I knew there were two strong riders in front of me, teammates, so I imagined they would be neck and neck. Anyway, we’re happy with what we did.”
The Visma team | Lease a Bike can therefore look forward to the next stages of the Tour de France with confidence. Despite the lack of victory, the team demonstrated that it has what it takes to play a leading role in the race towards Paris.
By the editorial staff of Inbici News24
Copyright © Reproduction Reserved Inbici Media Group
