It was a difficult first day at the Tour de France but surprisingly, one that didn't see many crashes. None actually that the TV broadcast captured, but we know that off camera Wilco Kelderman of Team Visma | Lease a Bike did fall. However, this does not jeopardize the race for the Dutchman.
The fall took place with 105 kilometers to go and was reported by FranceTV. Kelderman was later on seen with bandages, confirming the fall. Kelderman spoke to NOS at the end of the day and explained what happened: "I just slid down, that's really annoying. I'm following my predecessor, nothing crazy really, and I just slide away. The legs are good, but it can be better of course."
The Dutchman is a rider that, unfortunately, is used to crashing and that includes key moments of his season. Kelderman already crashed this season at Paris-Nice, fracturing a collarbone, which took him out of the Giro d'Italia, but has now come to the Tour as a domestique for Jonas Vingegaard. This Saturday he was ultimately a support rider for Wout van Aert who survived the climbs, but Kelderman's (and others') work was not enough to bring back the winning duo of Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek.
“This was a successful test. I never expected this, I am super happy with this.," van Aert said at the end of the day. "I just felt good today, and as it was, I had a chance to win a stage. Somehow I regained my confidence in the race."
Jonas Vingegaard on the other hand also had good feedback from his first race day since Itzulia Basque Country: "To be honest, I'm really happy with my form today," he said in a post-race interview, also confirming that he is motivated for the overall classification battle which he expects to come alive on stage 2.
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