Tour de France (1st stage): the peloton accelerates behind the escaped

? – 82 km
? Intermediate Sprint / intermediate Sprint

?♂️? Cousin takes it. 4th position.
?♂️? Cousin in the lead. Gaviria 4th.

➡ https://t.co/OK5buI9uXQ#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/ezCFAbVnEe

– The Tour de France (@LeTour) July 7, 2018 [19659025] 13h50: Cousin in the lead in the intermediate sprint

No fight between the three leading men when crossing the intermediate sprint of the Tranche-sur-Mer (81.32 km from the arrival). Jérôme Cousin took the lead ahead of Kevin Ledanois and Yoann Offredo. Behind, Fernando Gaviria quite easily settled the sprint of the peloton.

13h49: first fall

It is to put to the credit of Lawson Craddock, fallen during the refueling. The rider from Education First Drapac has been able to leave but he is currently up to the doctor. The American bleeds in the face

13h42: the teams of sprinters at work

Several formations of sprinters placed a man at the head of the pack to ensure the continuation: Cofidis (Laporte), Lotto-NL (Groenewegen), Quick Step (Gaviria), Dimension Data (Cavendish).

The Sky team is behind.

13h39: France best represented in the peloton

On the field of 176 runners, 30 nations are represented. At the top is France, with 35 representatives (19.9% ​​of the total), ahead of Belgium (19) and the Netherlands (14). Spain and Italy are tied (13).

13h25: it remains less than 100 km

The three leading men are now at less than 100 kilometers from the finish. Their lead is always slightly greater than two minutes.

12:48: who for the polka dot jersey?

If the stage is particularly flat, the route contains a small difficulty 28 kilometers from the finish, with the Vix coast (700m to 4.2%), clbadified in the fourth category.

The rider who will take the lead at the top will take the first polka dot jersey of this edition 2018.

12h44: the peloton returns little by little

Without too much force, the pack nibbles second after second on Yoann Offredo, Kevin Ledanois and Jérôme Cousin, who are only 2'32 "ahead 130 km from the finish, this breakaway seems destined to fail …

12:22 : the downward gap

The peloton does not leave a lot of field to the escaped. already in the process of becoming smaller and around 3'10 ".

11h34: 3'58 "for the breakaways

Offredo, Ledanois and Cousin, escaped from km 0, approaching four minutes early after 20 kilometers (3'58 ").

11h26: who are the sprinters of Tour 2018?

The Colombian Fernando Gaviria made his debut in the Tour. The German Marcel Kittel winner five times last year, shows less success this season after his team change. The Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen is the last stage winner since he was fastest on the Champs-Elysees last July.

Others ( Greipel Cavendish Sagan ) share the same hopes. And why not Arnaud Démare the Frenchman who opened his charts last year in the Tour? Or Christophe Laporte preferred to Nacer Bouhanni within the Team Cofidis.

11h24: The beautiful world to follow the stage

The kick-off of the Great Loop was given by its director Christian Prudhomme in the presence of French Sports Minister Laura Flessel, Prince Albert of Monaco and Eddy Merckx, the Belgian champion who embodies the legend of cycling

11h17: the gap is made

After six kilometers of race, the three fugitives count 1'30 "ahead of a pack that rolls on a small pace. 19659006] 11h12: the first breakaway of the Tour?

Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Gobert), Jerome Cousin (D irect Energie) and Kevin Ledanois (Fortuneo-Samsic) have taken a few steps ahead of the pack, which has not reacted for the moment. The three Frenchmen seem well left for a long-term break.

11h11: the real departure is given!

It's officially started for the first stage of the Tour de France 2018! And already an attack at km 0!

11h06: the French less interested in the Tour?

According to a poll of the institute BVA realized for Orange, the French public's interest for the Tour de France is declining for three years, with a drop of five points between the editions 2015 (32%) and 2018 (27%).

Doping issues are not unrelated to this as 71% of respondents have not trust the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to guarantee a "doping-free" event.

11:03: some figures

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11:00 am: off to the first stage!

Christian Prudhomme , the director of the race, waves his flag and the peloton can give his first shots wheel to Noirmouti st. The riders will parade for 5.2 km before the actual start.

10:55 am: Update on bonuses

As every year, the first three of each stage pocket respectively, 10, 6 and 4 seconds bonuses.

Small novelty this year, the creation of "bonus points "during the first nine days of racing (except for the team time trial). Located at a variable distance from the finish, it allows the first three riders who cross it to glean 3, 2 and 1 seconds of additional bonuses.

11

This is the eleventh great start of the Tour de France in the Pays-de-la-Loire region. The last one goes back to 2011, it was at the pbadage of Gois.

10h50: a sprinter with the yellow jersey?

In the absence of chrono to begin the test, the probability that a sprinter endorses the yellow jersey at the end of this first stage is obviously very strong. But which one? Gaviria, Démare, Sagan, Cavendish and many others will race for the first bouquet of the three weeks of racing

10:48: the weather conditions

Clear skies on the starting line and big sun are at the rendezvous -you. Just like the heat, since we announce about 26 ° C in the shade at 11 o'clock in Noirmoutier, and 30 ° C a few hours later in Fontenay-le-Comte, where the arrival is scheduled at around 16 hours.

10h45: Tour de France, stage 1

Welcome to all of you to follow the highlights of this first stage of the Tour de France 2018.

Who will succeed to the winners Chris Froome, triple title holder ? The Brit himself, after being whitened in the case of his abnormal control of salbutamol? Or one of the many contenders for the final victory (Bardet, Uran, Porte, Quintana, Landa, Nibali, Martin, Dumoulin …).

Answer on July 29 when arriving in Paris! Meanwhile, place at the first stage of this 2018 edition between Noirmoutier-en-l'Île and Fontenay-le-Comte. A route of 201 kilometers that should, in principle, smile to a sprinter.