Tour de France, first stage (Nice): the Direct

The most particular edition of the Tour de France began in Nice. The arrival is scheduled on the Promenade des Anglais, also in the city of the Cote d’Azur, at 6 pm.

4. 47 pm – Nizzolo in trouble

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The Italian sprinter is in trouble, he touches his stomach and his teammates are waiting for him, but he has already lost a minute from the group. After shooting the fugitives, the group is now compact

16:43 – Sagan sprint on the group

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In the intermediate sprint it was Sagan who won the sprint of the group, the race for the green jersey began

16. 37 – Grellier detaches

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Grellier loses ground and in the breakaway two remain, Schar and Gautier, but their lead is shrinking, they have only 33 seconds ahead of the group

16.35 pm – Ewan also falls

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A slip also for one of the favorites to wear the first yellow jersey of the Tour, the sprinter Caleb Ewan

16:33 – Sivakov loses ground

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After the crash, the Russian slips 4 minutes from the group

16.29 – Schär wins the intermediate sprint

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The Swiss precedes his fellow escapees Gautier and Grellier

16.25 – second fall for Sivakov and Amador

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Second mishap for the Russian and another fall on the Nice Promenade for De La Cruz, Sanchez, Nieve and Amador. The asphalt made slippery by the rain is creating serious problems for the riders.

4.15 pm – Latour and Quintana also among the fallen

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They are in a group but Latour and Quintana are also among the fallen riders, it seems that the Frenchman has suffered the most damage.

16.10 – Alaphilippe recovers

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The French rider, a great protagonist in the 2019 Tour, is returning to the group after the difficult moment.

16.00 – problems for alaphilippe

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Slide for Julian Alaphilippe: the Frenchman forced to change bikes. Now chasing the group more than 3 ‘.

ore 15.55 – sivakov staccato

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The Russian Pavel Sivakov, already winner of the Tour amateurs, lets himself be detached from the group. Ineos Grenadiers risks losing one of her best cards on the first day of racing: she is over 3 ‘.

in florence a square for gastone nencini

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On the day of the 60th anniversary of his victory at the 1960 Tour de France, a square was named after Gastone Nencini in the Gavinana district of Florence. The square was chosen in the neighborhood where the champion lived and where the Oltrarno sports club, for which he raced, was based.

3.45 pm – thigh problems for sivakov

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Some problems for Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) after the crash a little while ago. The Russian seems to be experiencing thigh discomfort

3.40 pm – compact jumbo-visma

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The whole Jumbo-Visma protects Roglic and Dumoulin in the most insidious downhill sections

15.35 – four people slip

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The rain resumes and there is another slip. Fraile, Sivakov, Cosnefroy and Latour are involved

3.30 pm – the first lap ends

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Schär, Gautier and Grellier are still in the lead

15.25 – pozzovivo and lopez back in the group

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After the crash, Pozzovivo and Lopez returned to the group.

3.22 pm – the first hour

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After an hour Schär, Gautier and Grellier covered 43.8 kilometers

3.15 pm – inconvenience for sam bennet

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Small setback for Sam Bennet, one of the favorites for today’s stage. The sprinter (Deceuninck-Quick Step) was slowed down by a fall, without consequences, which also involved Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT Pro Cycling Team) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana). Everyone left without problems.

15.00 – the first escape

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The situation after 26 kilometers: there is the first escape. Attack by Michael Schär (CCC Team), Fabien Grellier (Total Direct Energie) and Cyril Gautier (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) started shortly after the start. Advantage of 2 ’26 “, the group lets it go

the race

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Nineteen stages, one time trial, uphill, and 3484 km in total, with the arrival on the Elysian Fields on 20 September. Twenty-two teams in the starting blocks, with 8 riders each. Like all sport these days, cycling has also had to adapt to the rules imposed by the pandemic: each team will be able to accredit only 30 people, including 8 riders. Masks, sanitizing gels and the “bubble” are now common practice even in these latitudes.

restrictions

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The restrictive interpretation of the rules on positives is scary: if two members of a team test positive for the swab, the entire team will be disqualified from the race. So we are not just talking about the riders, just any member is enough.