They’d seen the forecasts, they’d felt the wind on their faces, and still the echelon was unavoidable. With 17km to go on the Tour de France’s opening stage, the peloton tore in two.
Off the front went Jasper Philipsen, the eventual winner in Lille, flanked by his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates. Behind, the gap grew larger, unbridgeable in the end, with riders like Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG) finishing in a throng 39 seconds down.
