After nine stages, the Tour de France 2022 is not yet halfway through but has already delivered many lessons. Tadej Pogačar seizes what has been his property for two years, the Yellow Jersey. Primož Roglič continues his upset history with the Grande Boucle. The French riders still haven't won, and have a lot to prove before Paris. Here are the results of the first week of the Tour de France 2022!
The end of the boring first week
“We have not experienced soothing first weeks”, specifies Christian Prudhomme. The boss of the Tour de France has never stopped looking for routes to eliminate boredom on the Grande Boucle. Particularly in its first third. Gone are the series of sprint stages at the start of the Tour. For a couple years now, the Tour has been designed with a different approach: to avoid monotony. A start in Denmark with a threatening wind, a scary cobbled section, and surprises when the road rises. Even though the wind decided not to play its part in Denmark, the potential was great.
The winners: focus on Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert
«Wout van Aert is the big guy of the first week», says Thomas Voeckler. The Belgian rider showed panache in this first week! Three times second in Denmark, winner in Calais (stage 4) and in Lausanne (stage 8). Wout van Aert wore the Yellow Jersey with allure for four days before swapping his golden tunique with the Green Jersey. In the points classification, he has nearly double the points of his pursuer, Fabio Jakobsen.
Tadej Pogačar, the current Yellow Jersey, is also the big winner after nine stages. Double stage winner, at Longwy (stage 6) and at the Super Planche des Belles Filles (stage 7), his grasp on the Tour is impressive. The Slovenian has already made an impression, with a well-organized team around him to control the race. However, according to Voeckler, the suspense is not dead yet. "He hasn't won the Tour yet, he hasn't knocked out the competition like last year." Watch out for Jonas Vingegaard who seems stronger than in 2021: with his whole team for him, he will be the only one who can compete with Pogacar.
Magnus Cort Nielsen has nothing to be ashamed of! He wore the Polka Dot Jersey until Sunday. The rider was one of the main animators of this start of the Tour, especially on his land, in Denmark. He spent a lot of time on the breakaway, honored his Polka Dot Jersey and gained popularity.
The weakened: Primož Roglič will have to support Jonas Vingegaard
Primož Roglič was to be one of the favorites for the final victory, but history would have it otherwise. The rider fell on the cobble stage (stage 5) and could not do anything. After 9 stages, he is nearly 3 minutes behind Tadej Pogačar. The Jumbo-Visma team will have to review its strategy!
What role will Primož Roglič now play within his team? The objective is to get the Yellow Jersey. Jonas Vingegaard seems to become the only leader. Primoz Roglic could be used by his team to destabilize Pogačar.
Ben O'Connor, the leader of AG2R Citroën completely missed his first week. Already 50 minutes behind in the general classification! The fourth in the general classification of last year's Tour crashed and lost a lot of time during this first week of the 2022 Tour de France. His team just announced that he was leaving the race.
Caleb Ewan, the Lotto-Soudal sprinter, also missed great opportunities to shine. Several sprint finishes have already taken place and the Australian has failed to stand out.
The questions: Where are Mathieu van der Poel's legs?
Mathieu van der Poel seems touched. Accustomed to tearing the race to pieces on flat or hilly profiles, the Dutchman went through the first week like a ghost. But why is he so tired? The 101st rider in the general classification is only competing in his third Grand Tour. Van der Poel is currently understanding why the Giro-Tour double is so difficult to manage. A plausible explanation, with the regret of not having seen the Van der Poel / Wout van Aert confrontation. The show would have been even more magnificent.
Ineos Grenadiers ready to take on the top of the leaderboard. Three men are in the top 10 for the British team, in a strong position to destabilize Tadej Pogačar: Geraint Thomas 3rd (at 1'17''), Adam Yates 4th (at 1'25'') and Thomas Pidcock 7th (at 1'46''). Their next moves should tell us about their strategy.
The French: David Gaudu, Romain Bardet, Thibaut Pinot discreet but still there
A rather convincing record for the French favorites, even if there was no victory in these first nine stages. David Gaudu (5th at 1'38'') and Romain Bardet (6th at 1'39'') follow each other in the standings, in ambush behind the favorites. Both avoided the pitfalls of the dreaded first week. Aurélien Paret-Peintre, third Frenchman (13th at 3'31'') was able to stay on the lookout.
Lesser known French riders have placed themselves in the general classification at the start of the Tour: Jérémy Lecroq, Hugo Hofstetter, Benjamin Thomas and Christophe Laporte have each scored top 10s.
The French riders still have everything to play for. Thibaut Pinot had a difficult day during the 8th stage after crashing on the road to Lausanne. But he was able to get up on Sunday during the 9th stage towards Châtel Les Portes du Soleil. Being able to bounce back in such a way shows impressive mental strength. Since 1999, a tricolor rider has always won at least once during the Tour de France, will it still be the case this year?
Conclusion of the first week of the Tour de France 2022
This year, perhaps more than in previous editions, the organizers wanted to compose a particularly stressful start to the Tour for the favorites. The results of the first week of the Tour de France 2022 are promising for the future: a hungry Pogacar, a Van der Poel on the back foot, David Gaudu and Romain Bardet showing their true potential!
See you for the second week of the Tour de France 2022 with major events in the Alps to see how the general classification will evolve.
