Stage 1 Bruxelles - Brussel 194.5km/120.9m
Oh, my darlings. The time has come! The day has arrived! Did you think I'd forgotten? (I did, but I'm here now. Shut up.) We are in Brussels for the Grand Depart!
Eddie Merckx and Christian Prudhomme are up through the roof of the red official's car. It's the 50th anniversary of Eddie's first TdF win, and the riders seem pretty chuffed to have him, as they grin at him though the neutral start. As we approach the full start, I'm hearing Phil Liggett, and it really does hurt a bit to realise I'm not going to hear his banter with Paul Sherwin. We're five minutes in, and I already miss him.
176 riders this time, which seems odd to me. The teams are eight-man this year, instead of nine.
First King of the Mountains points-- all two of them-- are taken by Greg Van Avermaet after a four-man break grinds up a cobblestone road that is, in places, maybe seven feet wide. And curvy. It's so narrow, cut here into the side of a steep hill, that the fans can only stand on one side-- and they're three and four deep, cheering at the top of their lungs.
Oh, what joy-- our first crash. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be much blood or damage, but one of those involved was Jacob Fugelsang, a Tour favourite. He's got a couple of Astana riders to shepherd him back, and all seems moderately well until the camera gets a little closer and oh, dear. There's blood running down his face and from his elbow. Let's hope he's not seriously hurt.
It's not a long stage today-- a circle from Brussels to Brussels via Charles de Roi. The peloton is making its way in fair form towards the finish, when there's a fall in the very middle, and one rider is not getting up. (ETA: his name is Matej Mohoric, and shortly after he DID get up. Whew.) Thankfully, everyone is within 3k to the end, so everyone will get the same finish time. But it remains to be seen if everyone will be starting tomorrow.
Sprint time, now, and for a moment, it looks like Van Avermaet's team may be attempting to bring him forward. Hasn't he done enough today? But Peter Sagan is is third wheel in the best way, and if he gets a clear shot-- which he undoubtedly will-- he'll take it. AND HE DOES! But Mike Teunissen is coming up next to him fast, and-- Jesus, was Sagan just tipped on the line?
Well, damn. Yes, yes he was-- by all of maybe 3.5". The first Maillot June of the 2019 Tour de France goes to Mike Teunissen of the Netherlands, riding for Team Jumbo-Visma. Sagan is second, and British rider Caleb Ewan of Lotto Soudal is third. This is Teunissen's first-ever Grand Tour win. And he was supposed to be a lead-out man for one of the riders who hit the deck hard in that late crash: leader Dylan Groenewegen. Well, no one can say he didn't fight hard for this win. And it bodes incredibly well for Jumbo-Visma that a guy who isn't the team leader can still win a stage even when a very large last-second wrench is throw into their plans.
Oh, for the love of G-d. We still have podium girls? It's 2019. What the hell, guys? Really? Ugh.
Anyway. It's Eddie Merckx putting the first Yellow Jersey of the race onto Teunissen, who is beaming, of course. This is only his second-ever Tour, so we're definitely looking at the future of cycling, here.
Post-show bad news: one of the riders to hit the deck hard is Geraint Thomas. That's exceedingly bad news for both him and his team, obviously. Tomorrow is the Team Time Trial, so we'll see what shakes out then.
ETA: I was wondering why I didn't see Mark Cavendish challenging for the sprint, and I've just got my answer: the team's owner insisted he be pulled. I get it, I suppose: with smaller teams, they have to go with riders they know can carry their weight for the full three weeks. Cav is a terrible climber, and he frequently leaves the Tour after the first week, when the race leaves the flats with their sprint finishes and heads into the mountains. But let's be honest, here: lots of people who don't know tons about the Tour and watch it for the incredible sprint finishes come to the Tour or watch it on TV specifically to see Cav. He's a human firework, even when he doesn't take the line. One of the most important things a professional cycling team does is get their sponsor's name on camera. Cav delivered that more than almost any other rider out there by consistently challenging for stage wins, and frequently winning them. He's got the second-highest count of stage wins out there, second only to Eddie Merckx himself, and it would have been poetic as hell for him to take the mantle this year. I'm disappointed.
Official ASO finish photo.