"That could be deliberate, because it's a Frenchman who rides" - Sep Vanmarcke believes help from race motos was key for Romain Bardet's Tour de France stage win
Cycling
Starting with a bang, the 2024 Tour de France opened with a thrilling finale to stage 1, with Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL duo Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek holding off the peloton to take the win and the first Maillot Jaune of the race.
Despite the narrow margin the leading duo held and the frantic nature of the chase from the peloton behind, the time gap was held relatively stable by Bardet and Van den Broek all the way until the finish line. According to five-time Tour de France competitor, turned Israel - Premier Tech sports director, Sep Vanmarcke, the only reason for this was help from the camera motorbikes.
"It's not one bike, but a whole group," the 35-year-old Belgian explains of his belief in conversation with Sporza post-stage. More than just the help from the motos, Vanmarcke believes there may have been a French conspiracy to aid one of the darlings of the nation's cycling in Bardet. "That could be deliberate, because it's a Frenchman who rides ahead."
"Then it's very unfortunate if you can't close the gap from the peloton. It's a problem in cycling that's difficult to get out of," the Israel - Premier-Tech sports director continues. "Six men chasing from the peloton against two at the front, that's something you can never achieve as attackers. Maybe those engines were a factor that played a role."
By the time Wout van Aert led home the remainder of the peloton in third place, just five seconds were separating the leading Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL duo and the chasing pack. Would it have been different if not for the added aerodynamic benefit of the race motorbikes and camera motorbikes, we will never know. But one thing is for certain, the efforts of both Bardet and Van den Broek cannot be questioned and were rightly rewarded.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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💛 It took 196 stages for @romainbardet to finally wear the Yellow Jersey. 💛 Il aura fallu attendre 196 étapes pour que Romain Bardet porte enfin le Maillot Jaune. #TDF2024
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