Pogačar 6th in hectic first stage of the Tour de France

In the opening stage of the Tour de France, 197.8 km from Brest to Landerneau, Tadej Pogačar finished in sixth place on a day characterized by two sizeable crashes inside the final 50 kilometres.

On the final 3km climb, the small leading group fought out the stage, with Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick Step) breaking away early to hold a gap on the chasers which included Pogačar.

Pogačar finished in sixth place in the group, 8” behind the winner and pulling on the first White Jersey of this Tour.

Pogačar: “It was a hard first day out there: there were a couple of huge crashes and we hope that everyone is okay. Marc took a heavy fall but we hope for the best. I’m glad the first day is over and we’ll hope for a calmer day tomorrow. I’m pleased to take the white jersey but after what we saw with all the crashes there’s not much to celebrate today.”

Several UAE riders were involved in the crashes with Hirschi the worst affected.The Swiss managed to finish the stage but was taken by team medical staff to the race medical centre to undergo scans.

Dr.Jeroen Swart (Medical Director): “Following his crash Marc has a grade 3 injury of the acromio-clavicular joint, commonly known as a separated shoulder. There is no fracture of the clavicle and no other injury to the shoulder joint. Tomorrow morning we will reassess his condition and make a decision if he is fit to continue in the race.”

Tomorrow the riders depart from Perros-Guirec with 183.5km with six categorised climbs and another uphill finish at Mur de Bretagne.

Stage 1 Results

1.Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) 4:39:05
2.Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) +8″
3.Primoz Roglič (Jumbo -Visma) s.t
6.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) s.t

General classification after stage 1

1.Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) 4:38:55
2.Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) +12″
3.Primoz Roglič (Jumbo -Visma) +14″
6.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +18″