Geraint Thomas flanked by Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal(Image credit: Getty Images)
Italian fans were crazy for the Tour de France(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar on stage 1(Image credit: Getty Images)
Marco Pantani still looms over the Tour de France in Italy(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) fights for the polka dot jersey(Image credit: Getty Images)
Italian champion Alberto Bettiol and US champ Sean Quinn(Image credit: Getty Images)
It was a hot day for the Tour de France opening stage(Image credit: Getty Images)
The day’s breakaway on stage 1(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ryan Gibbons in the breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)
Valentin Madouas leads the attack(Image credit: Getty Images)
In what is due to be his final Tour de France, Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) rolled back the years to take the most stunning win of his career on stage 1 of the 2024 race, surviving a charging peloton by the barest of margins to net him a first-ever stint in the yellow jersey.
Bardet crossed the line with teammate Frank van den Broek after the DSM duo put on a masterclass on the road from Florence to Rimini, completing a breathless finish with only a few metres to spare from Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) who took third.
10km to go, 5km to go and the flamme rouge all ticked by, with it looking more impossible by the kilometre for the duo to make it after cresting the final climb with a healthy lead. But with the chasers faltering, when they rounded the final 90-degree corner on the Adriatic seafront, it was clear they were going to do it.
Bardet has won three stages of the Tour, the King of the Mountains classification and twice been on the overall podium in his prime, but none of those achievements will compare to taking the leader’s maillot jaune as a proud Frenchman.
It’s his first Tour win in seven years and he’s the first Frenchman to don the famous yellow jersey since Julian Alaphilippe in the 2021 race.
