Wiggins and Bruyneel praise Van der Poel, but see Visma holding essential riders as back-up: "They’re saving their energy"

Visma | Lease a Bike caused havoc in the final. It was impressive but also worrying, according to Wiggins. “They're already spending a lot of energy,” said the 2011 Tour winner. “We saw Tiesj Benoot do a Poggio-like lead-out on that climb. Campenaerts did the same today. We talk about the energy that names like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are already putting into the race, but the domestiques will be important later in the race.”

Bruyneel thinks it's a show of force by the Killer Bees, and it's working. “What I notice with Visma | Lease a Bike, and maybe this is my subjective opinion, is that they seem a bit stronger and more organized than UAE.” The Dutch team was well-represented, except for two key individuals. “If you look closely, you can see that all the guys are around Jonas. But Sepp Kuss and Simon Yates are nowhere to be seen. They're saving their energy.”

The Belgian sports director enjoyed the first jabs from the men aiming for a good GC in Paris. And unlike on the first day, Remco Evenepoel was focused this time. “Remco was excellent today compared to yesterday. And his team took good care of him. Something tells me they were caught off guard in the first stage. But today, he was there. And on that steepest climb, we had Mathieu van der Poel, and for the rest, only GC riders.”

Carlos Rodriguez was not there. It is indicative of INEOS' Tour in the opening weekend, which has not been very successful. “Their GC rider is Carlos Rodriguez, and he is not at the level we expected. He did have a crash in the spring with a complicated collarbone fracture, which took a long time to recover from. But today, he lost time again.”

The fact that a climber like him wasn't there, and Van der Poel was, also says something about the former world champion. Wiggins believes that the Dutchman is more motivated than ever for the Tour. “Van der Poel looked very strong on that climb. He is at his best level that we have seen him at during the Tour de France. His form is excellent, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins another stage in this first week.” Stages 4, 6, and 7 all appear to be great stages on paper, tailored for van der Poel.

The former British cyclist saw a strong Jonas Vingegaard. “Jonas did very well today. He was a bit excited again; we saw him attack on that descent. It probably wasn't necessary.” But Bruyneel adds a footnote. “It's also a way to stay at the front. It keeps you close to the others, and then you stay out of danger. I think we could have expected him to lose a bit of control in the sprint. He can't keep up with Mathieu, and Tadej is also very explosive.”

Bruyneel praised Alpecin-Deceuninck, noting that the team was always on point during the first two days. “Congratulations to Christoph and Philip Roodhooft, especially when you consider where they come from. If you look at the budget, they are proportionately speaking at the bottom. They are not in the top five richest teams. It's really amazing what they are doing.” Van der Poel's victory was the team's 13th stage win in the Tour in just five years.

And Jasper Philipsen has the chance to win the third stage. "That would be something, and it's not impossible, especially in the Tour de France. It's war, but the sooner a team wins, the sooner it creates a snowball effect. The stress is gone, and then you make fewer mistakes. You're more relaxed because more than half of the teams, if not more, won't win two stages in the Tour. They've already done that. If Jasper were to win, that would be incredible."