Adam Yates becomes the first professional cyclist to wear the yellow jersey at the 2023 Tour de France. The Briton won the first stage around Bilbao in the Basque Country on Saturday (July 1st, 2023) ahead of his twin brother Simon. The best German was Emanuel Buchmann.
Third was after 182 kilometers with Tadej Pogacar, captain of Adam Yates at Team UAE Emirates, a favorite for the overall victory. He won the sprint of the field and thus received a time credit of four seconds.
A group of five breakaways, which never had a big lead and therefore no chance of winning, was caught 50 kilometers from the finish. Then it was over the Côte de Vivero and the Côte de Pike, two demanding climbs on one stage with more than 3,000 meters in altitude.
The peloton tore apart a bit at the pike. It was already apparent that – as expected – there will be a big duel between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and last year’s second Pogacar.
The Yates brothers pulled away decisively in the final kilometers. Adam, who won the Germany tour in 2022, was clearly better than Simon from the Jayco AlUla team in the last few.
The Dane Vingegaard finished at the same time as Pogacar, but is four seconds behind the Slovenian in the overall standings because of Pogacar’s bonus.
Zimmermann just missed mountain jersey
The seven German professional cyclists played no part in the decision. Meanwhile, Georg Zimmermann narrowly missed out on the first mountain jersey when he lost the crucial sprint on the penultimate mountain to Neilson Powless.
Mas gives up after a fall
Olympic champion Richard Carapaz of Ecuador arrived in Bilbao with a significant backlog, falling about 20 kilometers from the finish line. The Spaniard Enric Mas, who was also involved in the fall, even had to give up the race as the first professional. Both drivers were given chances to be on the podium in Paris. Mas finished second at the 2022 Vuelta a España.
Second stage also demanding
The second stage of the tour on Sunday is also demanding. It runs 209 kilometers across the Basque Country from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sébastian.