This is the start of the Tour de France. The warm sun of the presentation on Wednesday in the Tivoli gardens was replaced by rain on Friday early afternoon. The amount of people at the start was massive, the excitement as well, welcoming each departure as the arrival of rock stars to the stage. And then, everyone looked up to the sky. The raindrops started to fall early in the afternoon, earlier than expected, changing the focus of the time trial and the way it was tackled. The fifteen turns had nothing to do with the "MotoGP circuit" that Benjamin Thomas envisioned during the training period.

Thomas et Lafay, first day at Tour de de France

Thomas was the first of the Cofidis riders to start. The rider from Tarn has for the first time discovered "the incredible crowd" of Tour de France and also the risks that come with each restart, each white stripe and each obstacle. Extreme attention and high concentration together with well-thought out strategies were the key factors that allowed the Cofidis riders to avoid crashes.

Benjamin Thomas had a great performance: he finished as the best Frenchman of the stage, in 21st place, 34 seconds behind Yves Lampaert. Three Cofidis riders also finished in the top 50 with Max Walscheild (30th at 42 sec) and Pierre-Luc Périchon, (34th at 44 sec)who was the last rider of the team to start.

Tomorrow, the Tour de France begins its long journey. On the program: 202.2 km between Roskilde and Nyborg. Of course, this is a flat stage where the sprinters hope to put on a show at the finish. But the risk of being put in the gutter seems to be very high, especially when crossing the famous 18 km bridge. This is enough to play with the nerves of the riders as much as with the scenarios of the race and to guarantee some cold sweats. One thing is certain: the Tour de France has begun, with its share of daily uncertainty at the heart of the celebration.