Ineos-Grenadiers will undoubtedly come away from stage 1 of the Tour de France feeling downbeat. A best-place finish of 13th came courtesy of 22-year-old Carlos Rodríguez, while Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal both finished at 33 seconds down after being distanced on the final climb.
The 182km stage, which started and finished in Bilbao, was described as the toughest Tour opener in a decade, featuring five categorised climbs, three of which came in the final 50km. It was a stage that many had picked Tom Pidcock as a favourite to win, but the Briton and his Ineos Grenadiers team will be looking for silver linings on an otherwise quiet day.
