LILLE (France) – It is certain that there will not be the time trial bike of Filippo Gana on the rollers for post-stage recovery, in front of the bus Ineos Grenadiers. The Tour de France It didn't start in the best way for the colors of Italy, or rather, for the Italians. Ganna himself was the first to retire, the first to leave the Grand Boucle. And this, alas, is the fact of the day.
On the other hand there is Jasper Phillipsen who celebrates with his Alpecin-DeceuninckStage and jersey for the Belgian which, as always, was able to count on a Van der Poel Masterful. But it must be said that his entire team was in good shape. Imagine, they had five among the 38 forwards after the fans opened.
Visma attacks, Alpecin celebrates
Fans that were dished out by the Visma – Lease a Bike. About 17 kilometers from the finish, on a stretch with a rather strong, lateral wind, Vingegaard's team had all moved in the opposite direction to the wind. There were only three of them in front, a clear sign that they were trying to open up a fan, that an attack was underway. As we saw from the frontal image, with the speed hovering around 70 miles per hour, we didn't have time to think, "Look out, something's going to happen now," before the next shot revealed the crack.
A situation that, encountered by chance after the finish line, also confirmed to us Jacopo Guarnieri, who knows a thing or two about fans and roads around here.
"It's truly incredible," Philipsen said. "This tenth win is something I'll never forget. The team's performance is incredible. I think we were there all day. I was nervous since the morning, I had this stage and this jersey in mindBut we knew it could be our chance, we “just” had to stay ahead and that's what we did."
«The team was incredibly strong. There were a lot of us in front, I could make a play on them and I just had to finish the job. In the last 15 kilometers everything went well.And in the last two kilometers, all the spectators, all the people behind the barriers, gave me goosebumps. I had extra strength thanks to this adrenaline.
"The yellow jersey? A dream come true. I already have the green jersey at home, now having the yellow jersey hanging somewhere on the walls will be incredible."
Milan, he's thinking again
The 39th classified, that is to say the first of the chasing group, was Jonathan MilanUpon arrival, he was truly disappointed, almost annoyed. He had certainly started off on the right foot. He had, in fact, won the intermediate sprint.
“I’m sorry,” he told us as he was walking back to the bus, “because The leg was good. It could have been a good opportunity, that's why it bothers. I was right there when the fan opened. One or two riders ahead of me. I saw everything clearly, but we thought it would close immediately. It was just a few meters. Then a rider from the Groupama-FDJ he made the hole and…
«We were shooting from behind, but not always and not all of them. I don't understand the Soudal Quick Step, they had Remco and Merlier, we could have closed as long as they were close. We even tried a bit, but the guys in front were going strong."
Indeed, the fact that his leg was good is also evident from the clarity with which Milan speaks. From his recovery. Others seemed more tired. The giant from Buja, on the other hand, was very present and calm. On the positive side, there is the awareness that it can do good.
Ganna, what a pain
So we move back to the Ineos Grenadiers area. The flagships are arriving. We try to find out more from Oliver Cookson, one of the sporting directors. Ganna was already on the bus. He had arrived during the stage. He fell after about 52 kilometers and stopped shortly after the 100th kilometer of the race.
"At the moment," Cookson explains, "I can't add much because the medical staff is on the bus examining him. It looks like a blow to the head, but we can't say anything until we have a report from the doctor. On the climb up Mont Cassel, we saw him slip away, then we continued talking to him, trying to keep him calm and see how he was doing. Did he call us? No, also because the radio didn't work after the fall. We drove up to him, but at a certain point he said enough. He was in pain. And if someone like Pippo feels pain, it means there's pain."
The disappointment is huge, both for the staff and the fans. Ganna was really keen to do well and win the Caen time trial wearing the Italian flag.
«Unfortunately cycling is a tough sport – Cookson continues – Hours and hours of work, months of preparation, and Pippo had done it very well, and it all vanishes in a very short time. The Caen time trial could have been a great opportunity. But it happens, as it already happened to us at the Tour of Italy 2020, when we immediately lost Thomas and had to redesign the whole race.
"The loss of Pippo won't be easy to handle. He's one of our most iconic riders, and he was a role model for the guys too. But the Tour is very long. We'll get back on track somehow. Of course, we didn't get off to a good start. We just arrived and I need to see everything, but I think we only had one in the first group."
