Tiesj Benoot remembers 2018 and 2021 Tour starts: "Honestly, I fear a repeat of the same chaos"

This year's Tour de France starts in Lille, located in the Hauts-de-France region. The first three stages will also take place there: the first will start and finish in the metropolis, followed by stages two and three, which will begin from a central location and head towards the coastal towns of Boulogne-sur-Mer and Dunkirk. The fourth stage will have a difficult finish in Rouen before the time trial in Caen.

On day six, a challenging stage through Normandy is on the menu, finishing a day later at the Mur-de-Bretagne. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, there are two stages for the sprinters, followed by a stage on July 14 where the first differences can be made. Stage eleven is another stage with a classic finish in Toulouse, followed by the first real mountain stage the next day, finishing at Hautacam.

Benoot knows that this is definitely not a relaxed start for men like Vingegaard. "Maybe not much is being said about it yet, but it's going to be chaos," the man from Ghent told us in the Tour of Switzerland. "I'm a little scared. In 2021, we started in Brittany, and I fear a repeat of the same chaos."

That year saw the infamous crash involving Tony Martin, which left half of the Jumbo-Visma team on the ground. Benoot himself was still riding for Team DSM at the time and left the race after several crashes in the first week. “On the other hand, there were also fears of chaos at the start in Copenhagen, but it turned out to be quite uneventful. And then, there was also a cobbled stage. In Brittany, 120 riders were on the ground in the first few days.”

“Something like that is not good for cycling,” said Benoot, who did enjoy the Grand Départs of 2023 and 2024. “With those starts in the Basque Country and Italy, everyone was already a bit more settled. I thought that was a very good choice by the organization, so it's a shame that we're now going back to such a flat start. But I also understand it: the sprinters can go for the yellow jersey, and they deserve it.”

So what's it like to experience a start like this year's? “It's mainly about the first three, four, five days. After that, it naturally calms down because everyone is more settled in the peloton. I always say: if you make it to the first rest day without any crashes, then three-quarters of your Tour is already done. Let's hope so.”

2As a team, we will do everything we can to stay in the safe zone," says the Visma | Lease a Bike rider. "But everyone will do that. You saw it in the Critérium du Dauphiné, where the riders were fighting for every position." Per Strand Hagenes of Visma | Lease a Bike, UAE opponent Nils Politt even received a yellow card for this.

Visma | Lease a Bike usually prepares the men for what lies ahead, and that was also the case this year in the Sierra Nevada, Benoot confirms. “We have received an overview of the three weeks, but not yet in detail. We already knew it would be a dangerous situation. In 2018, we also started in the Vendée, and then my Tour de France was already over on day four,” Benoot recalls another unpleasant experience of chaotic Tour starts.

“Every few years, it's just like that,” Benoot repeats. "It's just like the World Championships: every few years, the sprinters deserve a chance too. Mark Cavendish became a world champion, and he's a great one. However, it's not much in the first week. Only the stage on July 14 is really tough; that's day ten. On the other hand, it could also be a great battle for the yellow jersey and so on."

Maarten Wynants, current sports director at the formation, was captain at Rabobank/Belkin/LottoNL-Jumbo/Jumbo-Visma for eleven years and knows the ins and outs of the Tour. "A Tour start like this is often forgotten. Something always happens in the Tour. I think it might be a bit less in northern France, with its wider roads. But in Brittany and Normandy, the streets are narrower and, therefore, more hectic."

"However, a sprint stage like that also causes more stress, that's a given," he explains. "The biggest difference is that the yellow jersey is at stake, which always causes nervousness. Now, everyone can keep dreaming, and there is less of a hierarchy in the peloton. If you start the Tour with two tough stages, everyone knows their worth."

Visma | Lease a Bike proved in 2022 that it can be successful in northern France with riders such as Wout van Aert and Benoot. The team pulled off a stunt on the way to Calais, where Van Aert won the stage and took the yellow jersey. How important could Wynants' regional compatriot be for the team in that first week? "You also need a bit of luck, even if you have Wout van Aert. When the entire team was on the ground in 2021, we were also in the front row. All teams ride with fear, so it's never easy."