Yves Lampaert storms to yellow jersey with Tour de France stage one time trial victory

Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) will wear the yellow jersey for stage two of the Tour de France, after powering to victory on the stage one time trial in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lampaert shocked his fellow countryman Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) with his performance, as he knocked Van Aert into second place. Taking to the course with conditions improving, Lampaert completed the stage in 15-17, five seconds quicker than Van Aert, to ensure he would take the yellow jersey for the second day.

Early proceedings started with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) holding top spot for an extended period with a time of 15-30. He relinquished the lead when the trio of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) all set off one after another, though. 

Ganna crossed the line with a time of 15-27, placing him in top spot. Van Aert soon beat Ganna's performance, finishing in 15-22 to provisionally take first-place. The Belgian confidently navigated the technical, rain-soaked turns, while Ganna seemed slightly more tentative on tighter corners.

Pogačar then produced a time of 15-24, which eventually earned him third-place. Proving his overall Tour credentials already on the opening stage, Pogačar also knocked world TT champion Ganna out of the podium positions.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The 2022 edition of the Tour de France got underway with a 13km time trial around Denmark's capital city of Copenhagen, the Scandinavian country hosting its first-ever Grand Depart. 

Wet weather plagued the opening day, and, despite the pan-flat route, the rain proved treacherous for the riders to contend with. Technical turns ensured extra caution needed to be taken around the slippery roads, with riders careful not to suffer an early exit from the Tour. 

Jérémy Lecroq (B&B Hotels-KTM) kicked off proceedings, getting the 2022 Tour de France underway as the first rider on the time trial course. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), the newly crowned Dutch TT champion, secured the fastest time of the opening riders, though, setting a 15-34 as a marker for the rest of the field to target. 

Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) came into the first day as a contender for the yellow jersey, but a few tetchy moments ultimately culminated in the Swiss rider crashing, unable to stop a slide on a tight right-turn. Unfortunately, Bissegger crashed once more during the time trial, slipping out on a Danish flag painted onto the road. He finished way down on the necessary time, but managed to cross the line, at least. 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had set off on his ride by this point, and when the Dutchman crossed the line he had set the time to beat, with a 15-30. Van der Poel's time was made all the more impressive when considering that he was half a second down on Mollema's time at the intermediate check, at 6.5km into the TT. 

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) tried his best to power on the pedals and beat Van der Poel, but had to settle for a three-second deficit. 

As the first 20 riders completed their TTs, Van der Poel led the standings, with Roglič sat in second and Mollema in third. Plenty of other riders were still to come on the day, though, not least time trial specialist Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). 

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) soon set the second-fastest time of the day, with a 15-32. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) crossed the line half-a-second slower than Pedersen, both riders roared on by the home crowd. This pushed Roglič out of the top three. 

With conditions seemingly worsening, Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) rolled down the start ramp wearing a snood to keep his neck and ears warm. Meanwhile, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) produced a time just 12 seconds slower than Van der Poel, as plenty of riders managed to get close, but not quite close enough, to the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider's time. In fact, the Welshman even rode with wearing a gilet, forgetting to take it off before beginning his ride. 

Filippo Ganna, Wout Van Aert and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) all started one after another an hour into the stage. Ganna crossed the intermediate checkpoint two seconds slower than Mollema, but soon dislodged Van der Poel from the top spot with a storming second-half of his time trial, producing a time of 15-27.

However, the Italian didn't have time to even consider winning the first stage, as Van Aert powered to the line, beating Ganna's time by five seconds and provisionally enough to ensure he would wear the yellow jersey for stage two. Certainly, his knee didn't look to give him too much bother around the technical course.

Pogačar's performance impressed too, as the reigning champion also beat Ganna in a ride that lay down a marker for his credentials at the Tour this year. He had to settle for second, but his time of 15-24 meant halfway through the time trial he was the best of the rest. 

Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) went through the halfway point of the TT two seconds quicker than anyone. The Frenchman's progress soon halted though, slipping and crashing on the rain-soaked surface as he looked in contention to perhaps take provisional first-place. He eventually finished 30 seconds slower than  Van Aert. 

The standings remained largely the same as the rest of the riders completed their laps, that is, until Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) stepped up for his first appearance at the 2022 Tour de France. 

With conditions improving, the Belgian powered around the course, gaining a lot of time on the other riders in the second-half of the time trial. He soon crossed the line five seconds quicker than Van Aert, producing a time of 15-17 to take provisional top spot. 

While the rain had stopped with 30 riders still to take to the route, improving times weren't forthcoming as the the roads remained wet and slippery. 

Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) was the final rider to make his way down the ramp and onto the time trial course, with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) having started his time trial just a few minutes before. Pidcock finished just outside of the top ten, but a strong performance nonetheless. 

With all riders finished, Yves Lampaert was confirmed as the time trial winner and the wearer of the yellow jersey for the second stage, a 202km race from Roskilde to Nyborg.

RESULTS

TOUR DE FRANCE 2022, STAGE ONE: COPENHAGEN TO COPENHAGEN (13KM ITT)

1. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, in 15-17
2. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 5s
3. Tadej Pogačar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates, at 7s
4. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, at 10s
5. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 13s
6. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo, at 15s
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 15s
8. Primož Roglič (Svn) Jumbo-Visma, at 16s
9. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, at 17s
10. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Victorious, at 20s

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE ONE

1. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, in 15-17
2. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 5s
3. Tadej Pogačar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates, at 7s
4. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, at 10s
5. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 13s
6. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo, at 15s
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 15s
8. Primož Roglič (Svn) Jumbo-Visma, at 16s
9. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, at 17s
10. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Victorious, at 20s