The 112th Tour de France is officially underway. The second Grand Tour of the season started on Saturday around Lille, and the riders experienced quite a nervous first day. This resulted in a big split with twenty kilometres to go, where Clément Russo, Cyril Barthe, and Paul Penhoët were not caught off guard. The three men were therefore able to compete in the final in a reduced peloton, and Clément Russo (6th) and Paul Penhoët (7th) both secured a solid top-10 finish. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet crossed the line thirty-nine seconds later, as did a large part of the GC contenders.
On Saturday, a large loop made up the first act of the 2025 Tour de France. From Lille, the peloton first headed towards Lens, before going towards Cassel and its famous climb, then returning to the prefecture of the North department, after a 185-kilometer route. The day’s course looked rather easy on paper, but it proved, quite early on, conducive to constant tension. Although a five-man breakaway went from kilometre 0, the peloton started to get nervous after just thirty kilometres of racing, and this nervosity almost never left the pack. The early breakaway was caught before entering the last hundred kilometres, Paul Penhoët (7th) took part in the intermediate sprint, then a duo of fugitives reformed at the front. “From the start, the feelings were quite odd with all that noise,” smiled Paul, a Tour rookie. “It even gave me a headache! It felt like being in a tunnel, with the car’s windows open. It’s really impressive, but day by day, I’ll get used to it.” As the halfway point approached, the first crashes occurred in the peloton, as did the first attempts of echelons after going through Cassel.
“Cyril was essential”, Paul Penhoët
Everything got back together, but the peloton continued to be nervous in the final two hours of racing. Attentive, the Groupama-FDJ riders repositioned with about twenty kilometres to go, and a few moments later, a split occurred in the pack. Clément Russo, Cyril Barthe and Paul Penhoët found themselves in the right move. “We knew this could happen at that point, but I really have to thank Cyril who was essential,” said Paul. “He really put me in the right place at the right time, then we made a very strong acceleration, and that allowed us to be up there with Clément. It was ideal and I can really thank the guys.” “There were less than forty guys in front, we had three men, and I think we would have had four if Lewis hadn’t had a mechanical problem shortly before,” added Benoît Vaugrenard. The first peloton gradually gained ground on the second, especially thanks to Jasper Philipsen’s squad, which was almost complete at the front. The Groupama-FDJ trio then kept up the pace perfectly and was able to look for a major result as the gap was thirty seconds with ten kilometers to go. It stabilized in the final, and it was therefore a reduced peloton sprint that was set to award the stage victory and the first yellow jersey.
“We could have done better”, Clément Russo
In the last kilometres, Groupama-FDJ tried to lead Paul Penhoët out, but were unable to set him up as desired. “There were three of us, and we rode well to be there,” Clément said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t find a gap in the sprint. I wanted to bring up Paul on the right, but I couldn’t pass, and I saw him come up on the left in the wind. Then, he struggled a bit because he had to launch from a long way back.” Paul Penhoët eventually finished seventh, while his teammate finished just next to him, but one place higher. “I think it was definitely possible to do better than that, especially since there were three of us,” Paul said. “It’s still the first day of a Grand Tour; you also have to find your bearings, especially since it’s completely different from the other races I’m used to riding. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed right now, but it’s still a good start and it allows us to give some really good momentum within the team.” “I think we deserved better and could have done better, but the positive thing is that we were in front, we were strong, and that bodes well for what’s to come,” added Clément. “There will be other opportunities.” Benoît Vaugrenard also drew a rather positive assessment of this opening day: “It’s a good start, and even if we always hope for better, we’re in the mix. There are some adjustments to make, but it’s always better for confidence to start this way. We’ll do better tomorrow.”
On Sunday, the peloton will head to Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the overall standings should change quite a bit. “There are three climbs in the final, and it will probably be a race between the punchers and the GC riders,” added Benoît. “Romain will be our best chance.”
