TDF 2022 Stage 1 Blog: I’m Just a Farmer’s Son From Belgium
The 2022 Tour de France is under way, with the Stage 1 individual time trial over and done.
Yves Lampaert
Yves Lampaert was the surprise winner.
The big favourites went early, because the forecast showed that the weather conditions were likely to be better, with rain coming later. In the event, the rain came early so van der Poel, Thomas, Ganna, van Aert, Pogacar and the others all rode in wet conditions. It looked as though Wout van Aert would be the winner.
Lampaert started later, and may have benefited from the rain easing or the wind changing direction. In any case, he won by 5s from van Aert and it was nice to see just how much it meant to this farmer’s son from Belgium.
π π§πͺ @yveslampaert
β Tour de Franceβ’ (@LeTour) July 1, 2022
“I’m just a farmer’s son from Belgium and I’ve done this”
An emotional interview from today’s winner β¬οΈ#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/PRLeLycGrf
For some other riders winning seems easy, and in interviews they can come across as unpleasantly arrogant.
Stefan Bissegger
EF’s Stefan Bissegger had hopes of winning Stage 1. On the Cycling Podcast, I heard his team manager explaining beforehand that wet conditions would suit Bissegger because he has no fear. That could have served him well if he had got away with it, but unfortunately he fell twice.
It’s an absolute π§π’π π‘ππ¦ππ«π time trial for Stefan Bissegger π³
β Eurosport (@eurosport) July 1, 2022
The Swiss rider has already crashed πππππ in the wet conditions in Copenhagen π₯βοΈ#TDF2022 | @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/QIF7aeS6J9
Geraint Thomas
Geraint Thomas forgot to take off his gilet before setting out.
The gilet blends in with the rest of his kit, and none of the commentators noticed he had it on. A gilet is not very ‘aero’, and it may have cost Thomas a few seconds. He was 18th, 25 seconds behind Lampaert.
In a pre-race interview, I noticed that responded to one question with a Primoz Roglic-esque “fwooaaaar”. Is it a new tactic to be more like the Slovene? Or maybe he is doing it for a bet?