Thomas helps Team Sky make opening statement
DUESSELDORF, Germany — One stage of the Tour de France was all it took for Chris Froome and Team Sky to respond to pre-race talk about how they’re not as dominant this year.
Geraint Thomas, Froome’s most loyal support rider in his three victories at cycling’s showcase race, won the wet and slippery opening stage and claimed the leader’s yellow jersey.
Averaging 32 mph, Thomas required a little more than 16 minutes over the almost entirely flat 8.7-mile individual time trial up and down the banks of the Rhine River in downtown Duesseldorf.
BMC’s Stefan Kueng finished second, five seconds behind, and Sky’s Vasil Kiryienka was third, seven seconds back. Despite the rain, fans under umbrellas turned out in large numbers along the entire route as the Tour started in Germany for the first time in 30 years.
Froome was sixth, 12 seconds behind, and performed better than all of his expected challengers. He was 35 seconds ahead of BMC’s Richie Porte and 36 seconds ahead of Movistar’s Nairo Quintana. French cyclist Romain Bardet, who finished second overall behind Froome last year, and seven-time Grand Tour champion Alberto Contador were even slower.
It was a banner day for Sky, which also had Michal Kwiatkowski in eighth.
Meanwhile, there were numerous crashes. Two involved key support riders for the overall favorites — Alejandro Valverde, who assists Quintana, and Nicolas Roche, who aids Porte.
Valverde slammed into the barriers at high speed after falling off his bike and was forced to abandon the race in a neck brace with a suspected broken left kneecap. Roche lost control while traversing tram tracks.
Sky had no such problems, which was a welcome change for cycling’s powerhouse team after its difficult start to this year. Thomas aimed for overall victory in the Giro d’Italia but was forced to abandon that race because of injuries in a crash caused by a police motorcycle. Froome entered the Tour without having won a single warmup race — or even a stage — for the first time since he began dominating the sport four years ago.
With neither a long time trial nor many mountaintop finishes, many observers suggested this Tour doesn’t suit Froome’s strengths.
“It’s still about Froomey,” Thomas said. “It’s obviously a big boost of morale, but the goal is still Froomey. But if I end up staying up there (among the general classification leaders), that would be great.”
Stage 2 is a mostly flat 126-mile leg from Duesseldorf to Liege, Belgium, that should set up well for sprinters today.