Girmay defeated Philipsen a year ago, but now finishes two bike lengths behind: "Felt very disappointed"

Biniam Girmay finished second, and in the mind of a top athlete, that is the place of the first loser. “When I crossed the finish line, I felt very disappointed because I was so close to victory and the yellow jersey. Nevertheless, I am happy that I gave it my all and completed this chaotic first stage without any problems,” said the Eritrean rider from Intermarché-Wanty.

The fact that he was overtaken by Philipsen and finished two bike lengths behind him did not immediately worry him. “I came to this Tour to win; I worked hard to be at my best at the start. Today, I finished second, but there are still twenty stages to go, and I will do everything I can to be on the top step of the podium in the coming days.”

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Behind Girmay, Søren Wærenskjold crossed the finish line in third place, and the Norwegian from Uno-X Mobility was also left with a feeling of "what if?". He had teammates with him in the first group, and they also rode hard for him. However, the winner of Omloop, Het Nieuwsblad, was unable to pull it off. “I tried to get the most out of my legs and ended up in third place. I'm happy with that because I think it was the maximum I could do.”,

This is mainly because Waerenskjold says he did not start the Tour de France in peak condition. "I caught a virus during the national championships, which means I'm still coughing. That's why I'm happy with my performance, because it was a pretty stressful day. There were crashes, everyone wanted to be at the front, and that made it exciting," said the Norwegian.

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Three major sprinters were not in the first group. Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier were two of them, but Dylan Groenewegen also missed the break on behalf of Jayco-AlUla. “It was just a very tough day,” said the Dutchman to NOS. “I had cramps emerging, and they just kept coming. If you wanted to move up, you had to go full throttle, and the wind also made it a bit harder than expected. The climbs turned into tough hills, and it was grueling.”

When Visma | Lease a Bike started the echelon battle, and the decisive group rode away, Groenewegen was too far behind. "I was feeling pretty good at the time, so that's a shame. The cramps were starting to kick in, so you want to take it a bit easier. But that's never the best option in the wind. Everyone on the bus said it was a very tough ride, so it wasn't just me. You always think you're the only one suffering, but most of the sprinters were in the second group."