Day One of Le Tour 2017 Recap: Düsseldorf Individual Time Trial
Nobody was going to win the Tour of France today, but somebody has lost it
Today’s time trial start in Düsseldorf was reminiscent of the 2015 start in Utrecht, even down to the lose of Tony Martin, who was favored to win again, this time on home turf. I love the hometown kid narrative, so it was disappointing when the German came in fourth, but a great surprise victory for Geraint Thomas, who wears yellow for his first time with a finishing time of 16:04.
I remember Thomas’s first tour in 2007, so I was less pleasantly surprised to hear the announcer say he’s 32! Is this how parents feel when they realize their newborn is a high school student? I’m trying to keep my existential angst in check, but it’s not easy when the retirement of 32 year olds is a discussion topic.
Of course, a victory today wasn’t really the goal for most of the riders, who were focused on getting a respectable time and not crashing. If the first goal was difficult, the second was impossible. A damp start turned to rain, and the the wet, grease-slicked city streets included two tight turns.
Only three-time winner Chris Froome managed a good time and a crash free ride, finishing in sixth position with a time of 16:16. Perennial hopeful Richie Porte avoided a fall but rode an overly cautious route to 49th place, 35 seconds behind Froome at 16:51, and 2 seconds ahead of Nairo Quintana, not known for his time trial speed.
Despite finishing stronger than expected, Quintana may be out of contention, because his teammate and Movistar squad co-lead Alejandro Valverde lost control and broke his leg on one of those turns. At 37, my age, Valverde is an older rider, but he had fine form leading up to the Tour, and was a credible contender for yellow. Losing Valverde leaves Quintana with a weak team versus Froome’s dominant Team Sky.
Bad news all around for Spain. Ion Izaguirre of team Bahrain-Merida also crashed and had to withdraw, and 2007 winner Alberto Contador did worse than expected, finishing 7 seconds behind Porte. He was an unlikely long-shot for this year, but for a cyclist known for boldness and solid time trialling, this is a disappointing finish that bodes poorly.
Did I say Team Sky was dominant? Well, yea; Thomas and Froome were joined in the top eight by Vasili Kiriyienka (+0:07) and Michal Kwiatkowski (+0:15), who finished 3rd and 8th respectively. With a team packed full of GC contenders, it seems likely that Froome will be wearing yellow in Paris, regardless of the pre-race hype for Porte.
I like Froome, but he’s not the most daring rider in the pack, and his easy, seemingly effortless victories have made the sport feel stale. Although he underperformed at the Criterium du Dauphine and changes to the TDF course designed to cut into his strengths, he still looks like an easy bet for overall victory.
Of course, I’m an American, and it’s Fourth of July weekend, so I have to at least mention Phinney Taylor, but I’d rather talk about the French. Phinney looked strong, but if Contador is a long-shot, I don’t even want to see the odds on an American winner. Despite my lack of patriotic zeal, I am impressed by Phinney, who has come a long way since the 2014 crash that almost ended his career, detailed in this great NYTimes profile.
Speaking of the French, they have a handful of riders in the Tour this year, with a best showing of seventeenth for youngster Pierre-Roger Latour. Bardet Romain and Pinot Thibaut seem to be the two to watch, but let’s be honest, the odds that my hair will stop thinning are better than they are for a French tour victory in 2017. Let’s hope Bardet can manage a podium finish and look forward to 2018.
I’ll be (attempting) to blog the 2017 Tour de France each day. This is Stage One’s entry.
Read others: Stage Two, Stage Three, Stage Four
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Can I fit in another (two) plugs? I wrote two bike books for Falcon Guides. They are both good! You can buy them at Amazon and other places, too. Best Bike Rides Connecticut (Amazon) and Best Bike Rides Long Island (Amazon)
