Oh What A Week!
It is hard to believe that just over a week has gone by since the Tour de France celebrated its Grand Depart in Barcelona. Simply put, the ever-changing scenery and the full-throttle racing, it seems like much longer. But that is the Tour de France, always moving, always pivoting. With the riders enjoying their first rest day of this year’s race, we take a moment to look back on the week that was.
Local acrobats animated much of the Tour de France opening ceremony in the heart of Barcelona.
With a multitude of national time trial champions on their squad, the Netcompany INEOS team charged down the streets of Barcelona, and very nearly won the opening stage.
Catalonia was covered in yellow throughout the opening stages of this year’s race.
The peloton rolls along the spectacular Mediterranean coastline that makes this region of Spain such a popular cycling destination.
With several circuits up the famous Montjuic climb, Barcelona played host to not one, but two stage finishes during the Grand Depart.
Catalonian flags covered the streets of Vic, as the peloton made their way north on the final day in Catalonia.
Tom Pidcock prepares for another day battling the intense heat on this year’s Tour. “It’s a war zone,” the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider said before stage four.
Stage four appeared tailor-made for breakaway specialists. And in that category, there is no one better than former world champion Mads Pedersen.
Sunflower fields were on full display during stage five of this year’s Tour de France.
Along the roads of the Tour de France, village after village is decorated with flags of the Tour’s distinctive jerseys.
A familiar face at the Tour, the yellow lion of the Credit Lyonnais bank—the sponsor of the yellow jersey—opens the way for the publicity caravan day in and day out.
But it is the Haribo caravan that is clearly the most popular, as fans line the roads hoping for a bag of gummies.
Alone and in front. Four-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar could be seen on the attack often in the opening week.
Crowds packed the final meters of the Tourmalet climb to cheer on the gruppetto. As is often the case in the Tour, every rider receives a hero’s welcome.
