French puncheurs go all out in Switzerland three weeks before the Tour: "Those corners..."

And that's not even counting the very strong performance of 18-year-old Paul Seixas (eighth in the Dauphiné for Decathlon AG2R). The same goes for the podium places of Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) in Switzerland, where they finished ahead of Grégoire and Visma | Lease a Bike's Dutch rider Bart Lemmen.

Lemmen was able to laugh about it after the race. "My French isn't perfect, but I didn't need to talk much," he said. "Alaphilippe and I were pretty exhausted. Vauquelin is really super strong, but so is Grégoire. He rode a little behind the motorbike, but the way he took those corners in the descent... like a rocket," said the soaked Lemmen in Küssnacht.

It was no surprise that Grégoire used the descent to take the lead. The Frenchman is a former French junior cyclo-cross champion, so he knows how to tackle a descent. He also said before the race that he had been working on the opening stage since the route was announced.

Contrary to what Lemmen said, he didn't feel any better. "I think we were all pretty much equal on the climb. On the descent, I wanted to be at the front to get through the descent safely and not be affected by other people's lines, but after two or three wet corners, I already had a gap. So, I decided to take some risks and go full throttle to the finish. I wasn't stronger, but I made the difference technically."

In stage two, Grégoire, who did not necessarily start with ambitions for the GC, managed to maintain his leading position easily. "The race is already a success, but we're taking it day by day. Now that I'm in the lead, it's tempting to go for it and see how far I can get," said the youngster, who also gained an extra second on Monday.

Vauquelin, who won a stage in last year's Tour, crossed the finish line in second place in the opening stage. "It had been my first race back, but I felt excellent all day and knew something was possible."

"Unfortunately, I lost my glasses along the way, and with all that rain, I could hardly see anything. I was on Romain's wheel when he went, and because I braked, he got a gap," said the Arkéa - B&B Hotels rider.

Together with Lemmen and Alaphilippe, he wanted to ride back to Grégoire, but that proved too much. "We gave it everything, but Romain was the strongest. There's nothing more to say," said Vauquelin, who will also be the lead rider for his team in the Tour next month.

Switzerland also marked Alaphilippe's comeback after a disappointing spring. “I've regained my motivation and confidence over the past few weeks,” he said, sounding motivated before the stage race. "I'm not making excuses, but the season is still long, and I hope I can perform better in the second half."

"My preparation has gone well, and I feel that we have found an approach that suits me," said Alaphilippe, who, like Marc Hirschi, showed improved form during the opening stage.

That will be necessary because Tudor will debut in the Tour de France in a few weeks. "That's a first for us, and we want to perform well. Wearing the yellow jersey would be a dream. I know what it means, and achieving that in our first participation as a team would be incredible."