Alpecin-Fenix
Score: 9.5 / 10
To discover
The general classification of the Tour de France
Mathieu Van der Poel's team had the wind in their sails in this first week. Even before the big departure from Brest, the Belgian team made a name for itself by sporting a sublime jersey in the colors of the legendary Mercier, the team of Raymond Poulidor, the grandfather of Mathieu Van der Poel. And the nod to his ancestor continued until the summit of Mûr-de-Bretagne, last Sunday during the second stage. The Dutchman, at the cost of a devastating attack, is adorned with yellow, something that his illustrious grandfather, who died in 2019, never knew how to do. The next day, another rider from the team stood out. . At the end of a stage with exacerbated nervousness, Tim Merlier won in the sprint at Pontivy, his first victory on the Tour. Courageously, theThe Belgian team then defended as best it could the yellow jersey of Mathieu Van der Poel, until Saturday when the road was too steep for the cyclo-cross world champion. A brilliant first week for a training which is one of the four residents of the second division invited to this Grande Boucle (with Arkéa-Samsic, TotalEnergies and B&B Hotel). Only downside, the abandonments of Mathieu Van der Poel and Tim Merlier. This should relegate the team to a more unspecified role for the 1966.8 kilometers remaining.TotalEnergies and B&B Hotel). Only downside, the abandonments of Mathieu Van der Poel and Tim Merlier. This should relegate the team to a more unspecified role for the 1966.8 kilometers remaining.TotalEnergies and B&B Hotel). Only downside, the abandonments of Mathieu Van der Poel and Tim Merlier. This should relegate the team to a more unspecified role for the 1966.8 kilometers remaining.
Deceuninck-Quick Step
Rating: 9/10
Three victories in nine stages. A third of the winners of this first week wore the colors of the Belgian team, a real machine of success. First, its world champion, Julian Alaphilippe, set out to conquer the yellow jersey from the first stage by placing an unstoppable attack in the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups. A yellow lost the next day to Van der Poel, but the green jersey remained in the training of Patrick Lefévère. Julian Alaphilippe therefore traded yellow for green before Mark Cavendish, winner at Fougères on Tuesday and then at Châteauroux two days later, delighted him. The return of the "Manx Missile" is also one of the beautiful stories of this beginning of the Tour with a romantic tendency. Eddy Merckx and hisis beaten like a devil on Sunday to get back on schedule, in Tignes. In Valence this Tuesday then in Nîmes and Carcassonne if he survives Mont Ventoux, he could rewrite history.
Bahrain Victorious
Rating: 8.5 / 10
As since the start of the season, the Bahraini team is flying in the mountains.
Matej Mohoric won the long stage between Vierzon and Le Creusot on Friday before Dylan Teuns triumphed in Le Grand-Bornand the next day.
A resounding double, in line with the great progress of this formation in the passes.
So dazzling that Sonny Colbrelli, a sprinter who goes over bumps rather well, finished third Sunday in Tignes, ahead of Guillaume Martin or Nairo Quintana, real seasoned climbers… Still in the race for the polka dot jersey, eleven points behind Quintana , Wout Poels was also impressed by his ease when the pavement rose, but much less by his racing intelligence.
UAE Emirates
Rating: 8/10
Perhaps his team was his weak point.
However, Tadej Pogacar's teammates did not particularly weigh down their leader in this first week.
They still showed their limits on Friday during the Creusot stage by letting go a large group including Mathieu Van der Poel, the yellow jersey, Wout Van Aert or Vincenzo Nibali.
A wandering without consequence since these three riders are now out of the game for the general after the two alpine stages.
Rafal Majka, Davide Formolo, Rui Costa and Brandon McNulty digested the enormous work done to manage the gap fairly well on Friday and set the pace well in the passes this weekend.
It must be said that having such a hegemonic leader over his opponents makes the task easier.
AG2R-Citroën
Rating: 7/10
Obviously, the victory and the rise in the general classification during the last stage of this first week tipped the scales in the right direction. Bruised by the falls, the French team did not have an easy start to the Tour de France and crossed it quite anonymously. Even if Van Avermaet has sometimes tried to take the loose, in vain for the moment. With a decidedly less general-oriented strategy since the start of Romain Bardet, AG2R-Citroën still places one of its runners in Pogacar's runner-up, 3'17 '' ahead of the third, Rigorberto Uran. A good mattress considering the good form of Ben O'Connor who could play a top 5 in Paris. Unless Vincent Lavenue encourages the Australian to waste time to adopt a more offensive behavior.
Jumbo-Visma
Rating: 3/10
Obviously one of the big disappointments of this first week. The third stage completely destroyed the Tour de France of the Dutch team. The latter is not there for much in its misfortune since Primoz Roglic, the main competitor of Pogacar, seems to fall on its own in the gravel. The Slovenian finally gave up taking the start on Sunday after a short week of suffering. Wout Van Aert, the Belgian champion, could have taken up the torch, especially after taking over 3'35 '' at Pogacar on Friday. But the harsh reality of the mountains caught up with her the next day. At bay in the first ramps, he is now 20th, almost 30 minutes from the yellow jersey. The only clarification: fourth place overall in the astonishing Vingegaard. VS'is probably the Dane who will be the leader of the Jumbo-Visma for the remainder of this Tour.
Groupama-FDJ
Score: 1.5 / 10
Eight from Brest last Saturday, there will be only five left to start from Albertville on Tuesday. The French team did not succeed at all in its bet to take Arnaud Démare for the sprints and David Gaudu for the general classification. The sprinter, triple champion of France, arrived late Sunday in Tignes, and was therefore eliminated from the Grande Boucle. A fate also suffered by his pilot fish, Jacopo Guarnieri. If Mark Cavendish, 36 years old and in agony in the passes even in his best years, managed to return on time, it is difficult to explain this berezina. Especially since the French sprinter has never existed in the three massive sprints of this first week. Probably handicapped by the abandonment of Konovalovas, an important element of his train, from the first stage,he never played for the win. David Gaudu, too lonely in the mountains, and a tone below the favorites, points him to tenth place in the general classification and lost another minute on the top ranks during the climb to Tignes.
Qhubeka Nexthash and Intermarché-Wanty Gobert
Rating: 1/10
Absolutely invisible.
The South African team and the Belgian team were transparent from Brest to Tignes.
However, before the late arrivals on Sunday of Nicholas Dlamini from Qhubeka and Loïc Vliegen from Intermarché, the two groups were complete.
Never in the good shots at the front, these two teams do not even seem to come to show themselves.
A sluggishness in the race which must enrage some French teams in the second echelon, while Qhubeka and Intermarché are two World Tour teams, ie the first division.
But also: Ineos-Grenadiers
(5/10)
, Israel Start-Up Nation
(4)
, Trek-Segafredo
(3)
, Movistar
(4)
, Bora-Hansgrohe
(5)
, Cofidis
(6)
, EF Education-Nippo
( 6)
, Arkéa-Samsic
(6)
, Team DSM
(4)
, Lotto-Soudal
(5)
, Team BikeExchange
(3)
, Astana-Premier Tech
(4)
, TotalEnergies
(6)
, B&B Hotels P / B KTM
(4 )