Tour de France: Martin and Roche lose no time in opening stage

Irish duo Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) and Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) were both given the same finishing time as the winner Mike Teunissen (Team Jumbo-Visma) at the end of stage one of the Tour de France in Brussels on Saturday.

Roche finished 40th while Martin was 121st. The latter was caught behind a crash but was not injured. As the incident happened near the end of the stage, he and the other riders were given the same time as Teunissen. UCI rules dictate that any riders delayed by a problem inside the final three kilometres will be given the same time as the group they were in beforehand.

Martin had been distanced for a while earlier in the stage when the peloton split into separate parts on cobblestones. However he and others in the group had no problem regaining contact with the main bunch. He told the Irish Times this week that his initial goal is to limit time losses in the first portion of the race and also to stay upright and healthy.

He believes the race will be decided in the final ten stages, and that steering clear of trouble is the most important requirement before then. He and his team will need to dig deep on Sunday’s second stage, as the riders will face a team time trial and a good showing will be important.

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Tour de France (World Tour)

Stage 1, Brussels to Brussels: 1, Mike Teunissen (Team Jumbo-Visma) 194.5 kilometres in 4 hours 22 mins 47 secs; 2, P. Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe); 3, C. Ewan (Lotto Soudal); 4, G. Nizzolo (Dimension Data); 5, S. Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida); 6, M. Matthews (Team Sunweb) all same time

Irish: 40, N. Roche (Team Sunweb); 121, D. Martin (UAE Team Emirates) each same time

Teams: 1, Team Jumbo-Visma, 13 hours 8 mins 21 secs; 2, Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team; 3, Deceuninck-QuickStep; 4, EF Education First; 5, Bahrain-Merida; 6, Mitchelton-Scott, all same time

General classification after stage 1: 1, Mike Teunissen (Team Jumbo-Visma) 4 hours 22 mins 37 secs; 2, P. Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 4 secs; 3, C. Ewan (Lotto Soudal) at 6 secs; 4, G. Nizzolo (Dimension Data) at 10 secs; 5, S. Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida); 6, M. Matthews (Team Sunweb) all same time

Irish: 40, N. Roche (Team Sunweb); 121, D. Martin (UAE Team Emirates) each same time

Points classification: 1, Mike Teunissen (Team Jumbo-Visma) 50 pts; 2, P. Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 50; 3, S. Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) 33; 4, M. Matthews (Team Sunweb) 27; 5, M. Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) 23

Mountains classification: 1, Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) 2 pts; 2, X. Meurisse (Wanty-Gobert) 2

Young Riders classification: 1, Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) at 4 hours 22 mins 43 secs; 2, A. Grøndahl Jansen (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 4 secs; 3, W. Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma); 4, K. Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep); 5, C. Bol (Team Sunweb) all same time

Teams classification: 1, Team Jumbo-Visma, 13 hours 8 mins 21 secs; 2, Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team; 3, Deceuninck-QuickStep; 4, EF Education First; 5, Bahrain-Merida, all same time