This time there is not a single Russian in the composition of 22 teams (eight riders each). Alexander Vlasov of the German cycling group BORA-hansgrohe, who took fifth place last year in the final general classification, was not planned by the team to participate in the Tour. In May, he covered half the distance of the second most important Giro d’Italia, caught covid and withdrew from the race.
Now Vlasov is recovering and preparing for the Vuelta a España that will start at the end of August.
The main intrigue of the current Tour is the confrontation between the current winner of the Danish Jonas Vingegaard and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, winner in 2020 and 2021.
The total length of the “Great Loop” is 3406 kilometers, 21 stages in total, the finish of the stage race will traditionally be on the Champs Elysees in Paris, and this will happen on July 23.
At the first stage, the twin brothers from different teams stood out – the British Adam and Simon Yates.
The peloton will visit France during the third stage tomorrow. The start in Spain was dramatic. On one of the descents of a rough track in the vicinity of Bilbao, the Tokyo Olympic champion in the group race, the winner of the 2019 Giro, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and the Spaniard Enric Mas, three times second in the general classification of the Back, they hit the blockade The South American skinned his legs with blood and, according to what transpired during a medical examination, broke his kneecap. Mas has a severely injured right shoulder.
The initial stage was won by the British Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), a few seconds later he lost to the second prize winner, the twin brother Simon, who plays for another team – the Australian team Jayco AlUla.
