The descent after the Pike Bidea wall, towards Bilbao, has ended up deciding the first stage of the 2023 Tour de France, with a surprising and exciting image: the twin brothers Adam and Simon Yates taking over before a final sprint that has taken first. The UAE rider was the fastest in a final stretch that had the Basque fans, euphoric throughout the stage, as the other great protagonist. Shortly before the descent towards the Biscayan capital, the small port of Pike has confirmed that Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are the strongest facing the general classification. Only Victor Lafay has been able to put up with them and everything points to the fact that the gala round will be a matter of two.
The first chapter of the Grand Depart Pays Basque, the start of the Tour that still has two stages left in Basque territory, has fulfilled the script that was predicted. The race, without large climbs, but with a considerable accumulated unevenness, has finished decanting in Pike Bidea, a climb of just 2 kilometers with ramps at 20%. They have been crowned by Pogacar, Vigegaard and a brave and incisive Lafay, the only guest when the race has turned vertical.
The roosters of the general classification, however, have not opened enough distance and, heading to Bilbao, with the race downhill, the twins from the north of Manchester have entered the scene. The Yates brothers, from UAE and Jayco, have put the stage in their pocket. They have entered the Biscayan capital like a cyclone and, logically, they have understood each other when it comes to taking over.
In the final sprint, uphill, Adam Yates, who unlike his brother had not won any stage on the Tour, made his debut in the French round. Pogacar entered in third place, 18 seconds behind the winner, raising his arms at the finish line for his teammate and, probably, satisfied to see that he arrives with the best feelings, with the possibility of facing Vingegaard.
The Slovenian and the Danish warned during the team presentation that they will constantly look at each other. They have shown it from the first stage and promise a duel without truce, with two great teams at their service and, except for a major surprise, without there being a third cyclist who can face them. In addition, a candidate for the podium like Enric Mas has abandoned the race after falling in the descent of El Vivero, towards Pike Bidea, in a mishap with another important man like Richard Carapaz, who entered the finish line very sore and late. The Ecuadorian, with his right knee touched, will no longer leave this Sunday.
The Yates brothers and the two roosters in the peloton have been the main stars of the race, although perhaps the greatest show has been put on by the Basque fans. Exultant with the start of the Tour from Euskadi, Basque fans have cheered from the first kilometer of the race and have done justice to the fame that places them among the best cycling fans in the world. They have packed the hot spots of the stage, the five ports prior to arrival in Bilbao, but they have also encouraged rage in each and every one of the towns through which the 182-kilometre route has passed.
The first part of the stage has been marked by a breakaway that, although with great difficulty, has managed to be the protagonist until it has been totally neutralized 50 kilometers from the finish line. They have been commanded by Pascal Eenkhoorn, Simon Guglielmi or Jonas Gregaard, inaccessible to discouragement despite the fact that the squad did not lose sight of them. Just after Gernika, in the first kilometers of the port of Morga, the race has entered another stadium.
The GC men have set positions, and the Jumbo and UAE have taken control of the race. At 30 from the finish line, the port of El Vivero has made the first selection and not even the spectacular atmosphere has been able to give encouragement to those who were flagging. In its descent there has been the fall of Carapaz and Mas, the worst news of the day. The stage, in any case, has settled on that Pike wall, a check point that gave the strongest access to Bilbao in luxury and the possibility of wearing yellow. This short, but demanding port has allowed us to draw the first conclusions about this 2023 Tour. Downhill, the strongest have been the Yates brothers; uphill, everything indicates that it will be, again, the round of Pogacar and Vingegaard.
