Was Romain Bardet gifted the yellow jersey by the Tour de France organisers?

Bardet in yellow

On 29 June, Frenchman Romain Bardet got off to an excellent start in the Tour de France by winning the first stage and taking the yellow jersey for the time in his career.

DSM duo stay ahead of the peloton

Bardet, who attacked with 50km to go, stayed ahead of the peloton, with the help of his heroic team-mate Frank van den Broek. According to Eurosport, the two men had a 45-second advantage with 10km to go.

Sep Vanmarcke has his doubts

Speaking to Sporza, former pro cyclist Sep Vanmarcke, who retired in 2023, had his say about the stage finale: "Six men chasing from the peloton against two at the front, that's something you can never achieve as attackers."

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"It's not one bike"

According to the Belgian, the organiser's motorbikes could have helped Bardet in the final kilometres. "It's not one bike, but a whole group," Vanmarcke said.

Wind shield?

Vanmarcke thinks the motorbikes acted as a wind shield for the two Team dsm–firmenich PostNL riders, sheltering them from the wind and giving them a small advantage over the chasers.

"It's a problem in cycling"

"Then it's very unfortunate if you can't close the gap from the peloton. It's a problem in cycling that's difficult to get out of," Vanmarcke added.

50 metres between motorbikes and bikes

Former pro footballer Gert Verheyen asked Vanmarcke what "the acceptable distance for bicycles" is. The former rider replied: "In fact, very far, more than 50 metres to not have any impact at all". A distance that would not have been complied with in this situation.

Fourth TDF stage win

It was Bardet's first stage win in the Tour de France in seven years. The French climber took his last win in 2017 and has won four in total.

His final TDF

What's more, he took the yellow jersey in what will be his last Tour de France. A fitting way to bid farewell, before retiring in 2025.

Tadej Pogacar already leading

Bardet's time in yellow was short-lived, however, as Tadej Pogacar took over the jersey the very next day, after breaking away with Jonas Vingegaard. Let the battle commence!

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