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Bonjour and welcome to our coverage of stage 1 of the Tour de France 2023!
At long last, after weeks of speculation, gossip and debate, it’s here — the Tour de France. As is the case every year, the hype has built and built leading into today, and now at last we get to enjoy some racing.
This opening stage in Bilbao looks to be a thrilling start, with a hilly parcours that looks set to draw out Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and the other GC contenders right from the off, as well as classics stars such as Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe and Tom Pidcock. For a more in-depth look, here’s our preview
We’re just ten minutes away from the neutralised start, which will show off what host city Bilbao has to offer.
And they're off, the 2023 Tour de France is underway!
As expected, big crowds have gathered in Bilbao to greet the riders, with barely an inch of space on the roadside during the neutralised start
About 5km to go until the official start, which should take around ten minutes.
181.6KM TO GO
Christian Prudhomme has waved the flag and the race proper has begun!
And attacks have immediately been launched, with four riders up the road
Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies), Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny) and Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa Samsic) are the four riders, and they’ve been joined by another, Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché - Circus - Wanty)
Could this be the day’s break already? The bunch are strewn across the road and nobody else is jumping out of it, as the gap already grows to above 40 seconds
One minute now for the break. Looks like they will be the five riders to hog the television coverage for most of today
170KM TO GO
A 1-30 lead for the break now, who have just started the first categorised climb of the day, the category three Côte de Laukiz
Calmejane clearly has his eyes on the KOM points. He’s already tried attacking his breakaway companions 1km from the top. He was unable to go clear, but has made his intent clear
Now Gregaard attacks, and he’s got a gap. 500m to the top
Gregaard takes the 2 points on offer. Eenkhoorn tried to chase him down but sat up, settling for 1 point at the second rider to the top
The pace on the climb is much slower in the peloton, which is being led by Alpecin-Deceuninck. Their deficit is now up to 2-20
Although a stage win and yellow jersey is unlikely for the five riders in the break, given the number of big name riders and teams who will fancy their chances today, each has a very real chance of making the podium at the end of the day wearing the iconic polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. There are four more categorised climbs still to come, with a maximum ten more points still on offer
Guess who’s on the front of the peloton — the indefatigable Tim Declercq! The Soudal-QuickStep domestique is back for a fourth Tour de France after missing last year’s, and is already fulfilling his role as early pace-setter
160KM TO GO
Some discussion between the riders in the break. They may be a little anxious as the gap has come back down to around 1-40
Huge crowds greet the riders as they pass through Portugalete, a suburb of Bilbao. You can tell we’re in the region known as cycling’s heartlands.
Despite initially building a big gap, this break might not quite be as safe as they initially seemed. Their lead is now down to just over one minute. Alpecin Deceuninck’s Silvan Dillier is sharing the pace-setting with Soudal-QuickStep’s Declercq, and although they don’t appear to be chasing hard, the gap is coming down regardless
Christophe Laporte is also now taking a turn at the front. It says a lot about Jumbo-Visma’s strength in depth that they can use as quality a rider as Laporte in an early pace-setting role
150KM TO GO
1-23 now for the five-man break over the peloton
The presence of Soudal-QuickStep, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jumbo-Visma suggest that their respective riders Julian Alaphlippe, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert all fancy their chances of the stage win today. These three have done battle many times in the past, but the big question this time around will be whether they can beat the GC men and purer climbs on the 10% average gradient of the final climb, the 2km Côte de Pike.
140KM TO GO
1-30 now for the break. The peloton seem eager to keep them pegged at a manageable rate, but without bringing them back.
Incidentally, the weather out there is mild, not especially hot and with grey clouds, but seemingly no threat of the rain the Basque Country is renowned for
It’s all quite settled on the road at the moment. The riders have some rolling roads to navigate before the next climb, the Côte de San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, around 15km away
130KM REMAINING
1-45 is the lead, with 130km still to ride
Should we read anything into the fact that UAE Team Emirates are assisting Jumbo-Visma, Soudal-QuickStep and Alpecin-Deceuninck in leading the peloton? Their leader Tadej Pogačar looks like a top favourite for the stage win, but there are doubts about his fitness following his wrist injury and long spell out of racing. Could their absence at the front indicate that he’s still not feeling at his best?
Here’s a nice illustration of the kind of terrain the riders are taking on today in the Basque Country: constantly undulating
125KM TO GO
The break will be on the next climb soon, where battle will recommence for more King of the Mountains points
Bike change for Benoît Cosnefroy in the peloton. The racing is still relaxed so he’ll have no problems rejoining them.
The riders are on the second climb now. It's 3.5km long at averages 7.6%
Ferron is leading the break up the climb, which is still altogether. 1km to the summit. Who's going to make the first move?
Gregaard attacks 500m from the top, Calmejane has been dropped but the other 3 are still with him
Now Eenkhoorn attacks, and he wins the sprint. That was a category three climb, which means two points for Eenkhoorn and one for Guglielmi, who followed him over the summit.
110KM TO GO
There are three more climbs to come later in the day, including a category two climb, where a maximum of five points are available. But will the break survive for long enough to contest for them? The peloton are within two minutes of them, and are sure to speed up as the climbing intensifies later in the stage.
Ominous signs as a few faint raindrops start to fall. The stage has so far been mercifully free of any crashes, but things will get nervous, especially now as the riders are currently descending.
The next key point out on the road is the day’s intermediate sprint, coming in about 10km. The first intermediate sprint of a Tour is always interesting, as we learn which sprinters are chasing the green jersey in earnest, and which ones aren’t making the classification a priority.
100KM TO GO
100km to go, and the race is still in a holding pattern, with the break maintaining a lead of 1-30 over the peloton.
The break are at the intermediate sprint, and they're going for it. Once again Eenkhoorn comes out on top to take maximum points
Now here comes the peloton. There are still 10 points available for whichever rider wins the sprint
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty led out the sprint, but their leader Girmay fell back a bit. Mads Pedersen won the sprint, with Peter Sagan on his wheel, intriguingly.
Significantly, defending champion Wout van Aert did not go for any points. He seems to be true to his word and not going for a defence of his title this year.
90KM TO GO
Some of the impetus is going out of the break. Their lead is hovering just over one minute
Despite being the record holder with the most number of green jersey victories, it comes as a surprise to see Peter Sagan compete for the points given his recent problems. He recently received a suspended prison sentence for drink driving. Despite that, the early signs are that he has the form and the frame of mind to compete
Here’s a full run-down of the intermediate sprint:
1. Pascal Eenkhorn, 20 pts
2. Simon Guglielmi, 17 pts
3. Valentin Ferron, 15 pts
4. Lilian Calmejane, 13 pts
5. Jonas Gregaard, 11 pts
6. Mads Pedersen, 10 pts
7. Peter Sagan, 9 pts
8. Jasper Philipsen, 8 pts
9. Mark Cavendish, 7 pts
10. Bryan Coquard, 6 pts
11. Dylan Groenewegen, 5 pts
12. Jordi Meeus, 4 pts
13. Biniam Girmay, 3 pts
14. Jasper Stuyven, 2 pts
15. Alexis Renard, 1 pt
Two riders notably missing from that list are Fabio Jakobsen and Caleb Ewan. It seems those to sprinters are sticking to concentrating on stage wins rather than the green jersey
We’ve had our first crash of the Tour de France. Uno-X’s Torstein Træen has gone down and has a teammate waiting for him. He looks OK though and is on a new bike and making his way back to the peloton
Hopefully that won’t be the first of many today. Thankfully the sun has come out again, so no threat of rain and wet roads for now
Don’t forget there’s another major Grand Tour taking place at the moment: the Giro d’Italia Donne. Find out here what happened today on stage two
75KM TO GO
The gap has just plummited to a mere 20 seconds. The peloton are in danger of catching the break earlier than they would have intended
Gregard and Guglielmi have anticipated being caught and have attacked out of the break.
The other three are back with them though, and the increase in pace has seen their lead over the peloton grow back to 30 seconds. Their seemingly imminent doom may have been delayed for a while longer
First sighting of Didi the Devil out on the roadside! Still showing plenty of energy at 71-years-old
70KM TO GO
The riders are currently climbing a hill that has, cruelly, not even been categorised. The breakaway must especially be lamenting it, given how their chances of competing for the King of the Mountains points on the later categorised climbs are fast evaporating. Their lead’s still a slander 22 seconds.
Mechanical for Alexey Lutsenko, and it was quite a slow change. While the racing isn’t fully on, he’ll surely be fine and back in the peloton soon enough
The riders have finally reached the top of that nasty uncategorised climb. They will now descend for a while before a short flat road and then the Col de Morga, the first of the day’s final three climbs all tackled in quick succession. Not long you expect before this race ignites into life.
Lutsenko is still chasing back into the peloton. He still has just under one minute to make up
The peloton have the break in their sights now. The catch looks like it’s about to be made
50M TO GO
The catch is made, and there are no late digs or last ditch attempts to make a case for the combativity award.
Lutsenko is also safely back in the peloton
Not long till they start the next climb. With no riders out front, will we see any attacks?
The break will be disappointed that they did not manage to stay out longer. Even Eenkhoorn, who picked up the most mountains points, is likely to come home empty handed, as his total of 3 points is lower than the maximum of five on offer at the top of the final climb.
The pace is up in the peloton and some riders are being spat out of the back, including Mark Cavendish
More sprinters now out the back including Alexander Kristoff. UAE Team Emirates have amassed near the front of the peloton and putting the pressure on
Lotto-Dstny are also prominent at the front, perhaps working for their improving young star Max Van Gils
The riders are still riding within themselves, and the bunch is spread across the road on the climb, with no one team taking control
40KM TO GO
The peloton are over the climb, with Jonas Abrahamsen of Uno-X taking the one KOM point on offer
Many sprinters who you’d usually expect to survive such a modest climb were dropped, including Mads Pedersen. You suspect they are taking things easy in the knowledge that they have no chance of keeping up with the climbers on the final 2 climbs
The racing is much more intense now as the peloton descends to the foot of the penultimate climb. This race is very much on.
The riders have just started the penultimate climb, Côte de Vivero, the day’s only category two climb. As well as the battle for the stage win and possibly the GC, this will also be key in the race to wear the polka-dot-jersey tomorrow, as there are 5 points on offer at the top
UAE Team Emirates’ Mikkel Bjerg is setting the pace, making things hard courtesy of Pogačar
30KM TO GO
Bjerg’s pulling some seriously agonised faces, too, and the peloton is strung out single-file. How long will he be able to keep this up for?
Warren Barguil is dropped from the peloton — more of a surprise that one, as a top climber. He could just be losing time intentionally so as to be able to get into breakaways later on
Bjerg is finished, and now Jumbo-Visma have taken over.
Now Lutsenko has been dropped, a top ten finisher from last year. Perhaps he’s paying for his earlier long effort to make it back into the bunch
Dylan van Baarle is the Jumbo-Visma rider setting the pace in his new Dutch national champions jersey. With just 600 metres to ride till the top, it looks like he’ll take them to the summit
Now Neilson Powless takes the lead in the peloton for EF Education-EasyPost
Powless attacks! He’s looking for the King of the Mountains points, and takes them ahead of Georg Zimmermann
Powless takes five points while Zimmermann takes three, with Esteban Chaves and Van Baarle following them to take two and one points respectively. That should mean that Powless will wear the polka-dot jersey tomorrow
Biniam Girmay was dropped on that climb, but has just clawed his way to the back. The Eritrean is climbing better than the other sprinters today, but will surely find this next one too much
No attacks out of the peloton yet, then, but that’s sure to change soon. After they’re done descending they will ride a few kilometres of flat, before beginning the Côte de Pike, the climb that’s sure to be the decisive moment of this stage
Crash in the peloton, and big names are involved. Both Richard Carapaz and Enric Mas are down, as well as James Shaw
This is bad news for both. Mas is stood up, but being checked out by the doctor for a concussion check
Carapaz looks worse. He’s still crouched on the floor and also getting looked at
20KM TO GO
Meanwhile in the peloton, Jumbo-Visma are setting the pace
Carapaz is back up and very gingerly getting on his bike. He's sure to lose time, but seems intent to make it to the finish and see if he can stay in this race
Mas is still stood up and looking despondent. Unclear yet if he we remount and try to finish
15KM TO GO
Van Baarle is back on the front and leading the peloton on the approach to the final climb
Carapaz looks very sore riding the bike. He’s already five minutes adrift, so he’ll only be staying in the race to chase stage wins rather than the GC
UAE Team Emirates are now side-by-side with Jumbo-Visma in the peloton. It’s all set for a showdown between Pogačar and Vingegaard
It’s been confirmed that Enric Mas has abandoned the race. The Spaniard is the first casualty of the Tour.
Jumbo-Visma are leading outright again, and we're on the climb
Now UAE take over, while Ineos are also in the mix
UAE's Großschartner has set such a fast pace that he's left the rest of the peloton behind. Clearly unintentionally, as he's now looking behind and knocking the pace off
Großschartner is back, and now Mathieu Burgaudeau has made an oppertunist attack
The Frenchman’s move doesn’t last long, though, and the Adam Yates led peloton has caught him
Yates’ pace is splitting the peloton - only Pogacar, Vingegaard and and Lafay is with him!
Lafay is in esteemed company here. It’s just him, Pogacar and Vingegaard, as Adam Yates has finished his turn
Behind those three are Simon Yates and Adam Yates with David Gaudu and Mattias Skjelmose
The small chasing group has caught the leading trio, and the Yates twins are off the front with each other!
Vingegaard didn’t want to work with Pogačar, so Pogačar’s teammate (and supposed co-leader) Adam Yates has been given the freedom to attack with his Jayco-AlUla twin
The Yates’ have seconds over the chasing group, which is now much bigger. Four Jumbo-Visma riders are at the front leading the chase. Just 6.5km to go
In that chase group are Vingegaard, Van Aert, Kuss, Kelderman, Pogacar, Gaudu Pinot, Hindley, Woods, Lafay, Skjelmose, Landa, Carlos Rodriguez
Among the GC contenders not to have made it is Ben O’Connor and Egan Bernal
Just 3.5km to go and the Yates' lead is 15 seconds. Are we going to have a sprint finish between the twins? Surely that will be a Tour first
The climb proved too hard for Van der Poel and Alaphilippe, who are in a chase group 30 seconds further down from the Vingegaard/Pogacar group
2km to go, the gap is 18 seconds. The brothers are working well together for now
Final kilometre now for the Yates. Simon is leading for now
The leaders are looing behind them but they have enough of a gap to contest the stage
Adam's leading now, Simon struggling to follow his wheel
And Simon has been dropped.
Adam Yates now soloing to victory
Adam Yates win stage one of the Tour de France!
And Tadej Pogačar wins the sprint for third-place. What a day for UAE Team Emirates, and what a day for the Yates family
Now to see which GC contenders have lost time...
That's Adam Yates' first ever Tour de France stage win, and he'll wear the yellow jersey again after a short stint in 2020. This is arguably the best day of his illustrious career
Here's what Adam Yates had to say at the finish
'I don't even know what to say. We tried to set the climb up for Tadej and he attacked - but then it was headwind on the descent. I tried my best. I slid back (and attacked) from behind. My brother came across to me and we started to work together. At first I didn't know if I should work with him and I asked on the radio and they said 'go for it'. It's vicious.
'I knew I was going good. I speak to him every day, we're really close. To share this experience with him is really nice. I wish he'd have pulled a little easier because he almost dropped me at one moment. I'm super happy.
'I had the yellow jersey a couple years ago in Covid year 2020, that was also a special moment but really I want to keep my feet on the ground. We're here for Tadej - the boss - he's shown before he's the best in the world. Over the next few weeks I'm sure he'll show that a lot.
'I'm sure people doubted having two guys as leaders. I might be a leader,but more in support. When I can do things like this when the team's under pressure and it works out like this, it's perfect. Over the next few weeks I'm 100% for Tadej.'
As for the other GC contenders, there were some time losses sustained during that thrilling finale.
Romain Bardet, Egan Bernal, Louis Meintjes, Guillame Martin, Ben O'Connor Jack Haig, Giulio Ciccone and local favourite Pello Bilbao all arrived in a group33 seconds behind Adam Yates and 20 seconds behind Pogacar and Vingegaarard.
While their losses were minor, it was worse for Matteo Jorgenson, who finished 2-38 down; Dani Martinez at 3-13; and Rigo Uran at 5-36
Richard Carapaz did manage to finish in the end. He arrived 15-24 down, ahead of the autobus
Here's our full run-down of everything that happened during this scintillating opener
We'll leave you with Adam Yates resplendent in yellow. Thanks for joining us today, and be sure to come back for what's sure to be another action-packed day in the Basque Country tomorrow
