Poels and Buitrago fall behind (a lot) in Tour’s first weekend: Overheating or bigger issues?

"The first stage was tough for everyone," the 38-year-old Czech reflected Sunday morning in Cesenatico – the birthplace of Marco Pantani – on the Tour’s opening. "It was a long, hot day in the saddle. Moreover, the very first stage of the Tour is always tricky. You never know which way it’s going to go. This wasn’t a typical Tour de France opening stage either. We didn’t see the kind of stress we’ve seen in the past, but it was exciting and hectic nonetheless."

When discussing the performance of the dsm-firmenich PostNL duo Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek, Kreuziger also spoke of a real masterpiece (who didn’t?!). "Those guys really showed guts. They weren’t afraid to try. For us, it was also quite good overall because our GC leader, Santiago, didn’t lose any time. With Matej Mohoric, we were also present in the breakaway of the day, so we could be satisfied."

As for the significant time loss suffered by Poels, who hopes to snatch up a stage in this edition again, Kreuziger had a clear explanation. "Wout tried to be there, but he suffered a lot due to the heat. He seemed literally cooked. Luckily for us, it’s not a big issue since we plan for him to play a crucial role later in the race. Sure, it was a bit unexpected. But we’re not worried about Wout. There is no need to panic. In the stages that are important to him, he knows exactly what to do, and that’s what matters. He also knows that that's how we see it."

That was all on Sunday morning. You guessed it: Tadej Pogacar and company had already been in Bologna for quite some time before Poels even crossed the finish line. Was that due to the heat again? We can’t rule it out. Another noteworthy point: Buitrago also finished some distance behind the GC favorites. On the first day, he seemed to be hanging on by a thread at times, and on Sunday, he really broke down. "For Santi, it’s his first Tour. He’s ridden the Giro and the Vuelta, but those are different races. The Tour is truly something unique," which is a possible explanation Kreuziger had offered earlier in the day.

"In the coming stages, he will certainly try, but in his case, a lot of pressure is involved as well. From a Colombian perspective, he’s the man that cycling fans are watching. Maybe he also suffered a bit too much from that pressure," concluded the man who participated in multiple Tours de France himself. Whether Buitrago also suffered too much from the pressure on Sunday? Time will tell...