Note about the Tour de France 2015
No truce in the first flat stage of the Tour de France 2015. On the contrary, the wind and rain shattered the race with significant consequences for the general classification. Chris Froome and Alberto Contador joined the leading group and took 1:28 and 1:24 minutes, respectively, from Nairo Quintana, Vincenzo Nibali, and Thibaut Pinot, among others. The victory was taken by the German Andre Greipel in the sprint. The Swiss Fabian Cancellara, who finished third, is the new yellow jersey after gaining four bonus seconds, as Rohan Dennis was left behind in the second pack.
Second stage of the Tour de France in Zelanda
This second stage of the Tour ended in Zelanda, one of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. Zelanda, in Dutch, means 'Land of the sea', which already evokes the coast... And the coast evokes wind. In fact, the finish line was located on a dike. It was not necessary to reach the sea for the wind to blow. 120 km from the finish, the television director focused on a tree bending its branches due to the wind. At the same time, the official Tour's Twitter account posted a tweet: 'Oh, oh, oh', accompanied by a video of a flag waving violently.
The teams of the favorites were on high alert and positioned themselves at the front. The Tinkoff team was especially visible, as well as Astana, Movistar, and Sky. The 'Big Four' were on guard. But it was Alberto Contador's team that formed an echelon. There were 100 kilometers left to the end of the stage. Contador's intentions were clear: he will not waste a single opportunity to wage his guerrilla war.
This echelon did not materialize because it did not surprise any of the favorites, except Purito Rodríguez. But the weather was worsening with each passing kilometer, and the information that came from the final section of the stage was worrying. The rain was intensifying. Falls and breakdowns were occurring: Kelderman, Ten Dam, Hansen, Bouhanni... And 55 kilometers from the finish line, the Tour claimed two important pieces: Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde were left behind. Movistar had to suffer. Purito and Péraud too.
Meanwhile, the Belgians of Lotto-Soudal caused another split. Contador and Chris Froome resisted the push. Warren Barguil, Tejay Van Garderen, Rigoberto Urán, Michał Kwiatkowski, and Tony Martin were also in the lead group, with Martin aiming for the yellow jersey. Neither Vincenzo Nibali, nor Thibaut Pinot, nor the leader Rohan Dennis made it to the front group. The peloton had shattered into a thousand pieces, and there were still 45 kilometers to go.
And then the scenario changed. Nairo caught up with Nibali with 35 km to go. Almost simultaneously, the rain stopped for a moment. The Contador group had opened a gap of one minute, but the strength was growing behind. If there was little excitement, the 'Shark of the Strait' suffered a breakdown. He could not have chosen a worse moment, although the cars softened his agony. When the gap seemed like it could be reduced, the opposite happened: a crash by 'movistar' Anacona brought the time difference to 1:20. The final gap stabilized there: 1:28 for the front group. Contador lost a small pinch of 4 seconds due to the sprint's inertia: 1:24. A good profit for a flat stage.
The resolution of the day rewarded the work of the Lotto-Soudal team. The German Andre Greipel, launched by Tony Gallopin, won the sprint ahead of Peter Sagan. Fabian Cancellara, who finished third, donned the yellow jersey thanks to the four bonus seconds he gained at the finish line. Martin was left empty-handed. Cancellara holds a historic record as the rider who has worn the jersey the most times without winning the general classification, with 29 days.
This first stage of the Tour also had its first adventurers. Pierrig Quémeneur (Europcar), Jan Barta (Bora), Stef Clement (IAM), and Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne) made a breakaway in the first kilometer. But with the chaos that ensued later, their attempt became just an anecdote. 63 km from the finish, their escape was already history.