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Yves Lampaert thwarts the odds and wins the 1st yellow jersey

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In the inaugural time trial in Copenhagen, the Belgian Yves Lampaert (Quickstep Alpha Vinyl) defied the odds to obtain the first yellow jersey of the 2022 edition of the Tour de France. Tadej Pogacar finishes third behind Wout Van Aert.

We have to believe that the Tour de France teams have progress to make in meteorology. All have chosen to send their favorites for the 1re stage at the start of the time trial to try to gain an advantage by avoiding the rain. Missed ! It was ultimately for the riders who left in the last hour that the course proved to be the most lenient, allowing outsider Yves Lampaert (Quick-step Alpha Vynil) to win the inaugural stage and take the jersey. yellow.

“The Tour is not won in the first week, but it can get lost,” says the old journalistic cliche. This year, the organizers have plotted a course that could already put in difficulty those who aim for the general classification from the first day.

The 13.2 kilometer prologue may be short and resemble a sightseeing tour of Copenhagen – between the Little Mermaid, the Royal Palace and the arrival at the famous Tivoli amusement park – but the route was technical enough to create first gaps with a route multiplying turns, often at right angles.

Copenhagen in the rain

And as if that weren’t enough, the rain came to the Danish capital. Not a deluge, but a small downpour, fine and stubborn, which added difficulty between slippery white stripes and the risk of falling in the bends.

Not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the Danes, delighted to welcome for the first time in their history the big start of the Tour de France. Not hesitating to arrive several hours before departure, they camped along the barriers. Colorful cyclist outfits, hats in the colors of Denmark, flags unfurled, they were ready to live the same experience as hundreds of thousands of French people every year along the route of the Tour.

And cycling is a magical sport. If everyone has his or her preferences in terms of runners, everyone is applauded in the same way, commensurate with the physical feat that the next three weeks will represent. However, it must be said that the Danes – 10 in the peloton this year – are entitled to preferential treatment. The organizer ASO has concocted a special entertainment for them for the start.

The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, eternal rival of the Belgian Wout van Aert, believed for a long time to achieve the feat on this first stage. He held the fastest time, even beating the time specialists of Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland) and Stefan Küng (Liechtentstein) and outplaying the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, until the world champion Filippo Ganna and then his rival Belgian robs him of first place. But his compatriot Yves Lampaert ended up ousting him from the throne to everyone’s surprise, taking advantage in particular of the improvement of the track.

As for the contenders for the general classification, the stage will have given rise to a first skimming. Tadej Pogacar already has an eight-second advantage over his two main competitors, Jumbo-Visma teammates Primoz Roglic and local Jonas Vingegaard. Behind, the competition is already relegated to several tens of seconds: 16 for Adam Yates, (Ineos Grenadiers) 18 for Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), 24 for Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana Qazakstan), 37 for Daniel Felipe Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers). The French are even further: 38 seconds for Romain Bardet (DSM), 52 for David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) 55 seconds for Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).

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