The peloton reacts to a chaotic opening day of the Tour
The peloton reacts to a chaotic opening day of the Tour
The last hour of the opening stage of the 2021 Tour de France was interrupted by two horrific crashes that affected most of the peloton. The first was caused by an oblivious fan more interested in getting on TV than watching the race, and the second came deep into the last 10 km, bringing the stage to a premature end for much of the peloton.
However, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) gave France a reason to smile as he attacked early on the finishing climb to take a fantastic win and swapped rainbows for yellow on the podium.
We’ve gathered all the reactions from inside the peloton. They range from venting about the fan with the cardboard sign, to giving a status update after crashing, to soaking in their first day ever at the Tour.
I hope Omi & Opi are proud of you..
— Jasper Stuyven (@Jasperstuyven) June 26, 2021
On a serious note though; great to see still many spectators are loving our sport and cheering for us, but please, stay on the side of the road, not on the road! pic.twitter.com/0sU4yKR3nk
Not how I planned for today to go but I managed to finish. Off for some scans 🤞I will update this evening.
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 26, 2021
I hope everyone else who came down is okay #TDF2021
When I was still excited not the best day for us, but it could have been a lot worse as well.
— Wout van Aert (@WoutvanAert) June 26, 2021
I enjoyed my first day in 🇧🇪 untill the big crash. Let’s hope everybody heals up and can continue the race 🤞
To the fans: we love you but please be more careful! https://t.co/IfzM1Be20G
No words needed…
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) June 26, 2021
World Champion ️
Yellow Jersey ️
Darling of France ️
We all love you @alafpolak. Thank you for the emotions x pic.twitter.com/ktbLYyfblQ
— Oliver naesen (@OliverNaesen) June 26, 2021
Translation: “Make sure you don’t fall, guys.”
Los inicios aquí suelen ser así. En mi caso, por fortuna, sólo pequeños rasguños en el brazo. Mucho ánimo a los afectados, espero que no haya lesiones graves y que nos veamos todos mañana en salida.
— alejandro valverde (@alejanvalverde) June 26, 2021
Mucha precaución a los espectadores en carrera por favor.
This was a real TDF opening More than happy to have stayed upright. I hope everyone involved in crashes is more or less okay
— Matej Mohoric (@matmohoric) June 26, 2021
Bit of skin off – stuff grows back
— Harry Sweeny (@harry_sweeny) June 26, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed my first day apart from that. https://t.co/R2nSNtHzAS
Well that was some start of @LeTour …. 3 crashes for me in 1 day🤕🤕🤕 Hope the damage for the riders involved is not too big🤞
— Edward Theuns (@EdwardTheuns) June 26, 2021
For myself, some scratches and a very painful left calf… we’ll see tomorrow! #LooneyTheuns #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/aadNgGhAfJ
A very nervous start of the Tour like usual.
— Philippe Gilbert (@PhilippeGilbert) June 26, 2021
I was luckily able to avoid the last big crash but lost contact with the first group! On to the next one!
@facepeeters pic.twitter.com/llL65Vx5XM
Hope every rider who crashed is oké. Speedy recovery to the injured ones. (Fans, please stay off the roads. And if you want to pay attention to your opi and omi, visit them.) https://t.co/17giHYUYlU
— Richard Plugge (@RichardPlugge) June 26, 2021
Mensaje para los verdaderos aficionados , cuando veas un “aficionado“ haciendo estupideces como está 🤬por favor intenta recriminárselo antes de que nos ponga en peligro . Lo que es evidente …se ve que para alguno no lo es . Espero estén bien los afectados . pic.twitter.com/nQMf3HgW38
— Carlos Barbero (@BarberoCbc) June 26, 2021
Much strenght and speedy recovery to all those injured in the falls today during the @LeTour
— Jonathan Castroviejo (@jcastroviejo) June 26, 2021
Espero que todos los corredores implicados en las caídas se recuperen pronto.#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/18HDgdTOFO
I remember some better openingstages in @LeTour. Suffered a lot in the last 50 k, hopefully the x-rays giving me some good news🤞 https://t.co/IkTFqzUhri
— Mike Teunissen (@MikeTeunissen) June 26, 2021
It took me half a stage to remember how crazy the tour is .
— Jasper De Buyst (@JasperDeBuyst) June 26, 2021
Involved in a crash within the last 10k but feeling Ok.
On to tomorrow!
“We feared for Lorenzo Rota and Georg Zimmermann, who crashed at over 70 km/h, but thankfully all our riders will start tomorrow and continue to fight in this Tour de France”
— Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) June 26, 2021
Read more ️ https://t.co/oSMX2aLudF pic.twitter.com/xYVHGzj9Ed
First day of the tour
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) June 26, 2021
Eventful as ever. Happy to get through those two brutal crashes. Unfortunately Richie and Tao got caught up, but luckily they are all good
1 down, 20 to go #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/IYTUe0isBb
First day of Le Tour, and a fan crashes the whole bunch 🤦♂️ Ended up with stitches in my arm, and a lot of pain in my shoulder, but thankfully no fractures. The adventure continues! @AG2RCITROENTEAM @LeTour
— Ben O’Connor (@ben_oconnor95) June 26, 2021
This is the wolfpack!
— Kasper Asgreen (@k_asgreen) June 26, 2021
Fans please protect us from your enthusiasm #TheWolfpack #WayToRide
@alventomagazine / @bettiniphoto pic.twitter.com/tFcrx2QyiX
Read MoreFirst day chaos at the Tour de France…It’s not for the faint hearted #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/om5hBDj692
— Team BikeExchange (@GreenEDGEteam) June 26, 2021