Elie Gesbert

Rain, narrow roads and first-day jitters stretched the peloton frequently after several crashes during Stage 1 of the 2020 Tour de France, the result being our first Point d’Appuit of the race: Krists Neilands of Israel Start-Up Nation.

2019 was an impressive year for Neilands, who won the Latvian National Road Championships, the general classification for Tour de Hongrie and the Grand Prix de Wallonie. He looked quite strong during the first three stages of Paris-Nice during March. He rides in support of team leader Dan Martin.

The winner of the overall 2019 Point d’Appui, Élie Gesbert of Arkéa–Samsic, is notable to defend his title in the Tour de France this year. He suffered a fractured kneecap at Challenge Mallorca in February. Good wishes for his continued return to racing.

Stage 1 started in Nice and followed loops that took riders over the Aspremont three times before ending in a wild sprint finish in Nice as well. Alexander Kristoff won the stage over the 176-rider field with a strong push during the bunch sprint along the long straight-away.

A crash just after the 3-kilometer flag winnowed the field, but the 3K rule allowed the fallen to collect the same time as the leading riders. John Degenkolb of Lotto Soudal finished outside the time limit, so only 175 riders were scored.

Michael Schär of CCC Team, part of the three-person break, scored enough points on the two trips over the Class 3 Ĉote de Rimiez to win the polka dot jersey on the stage. The peloton caught the break with about 35 miles left on the day.

Rafael Valls Ferri of Bahrain McLaren is the Lanterne Rouge.

Elie Gesbert

In a year when the Tour de France did not have a repeat stage winner until Stage 13, it’s perhaps a turn of favor that only six riders held the Point d’Appui during the tour. On the Champs Elysees, the winner of the grey jersey turned out to be Elie Gesbert, the 24-year-old rider for the Breton team Arkéa Samsic.

Gesbert was named most combative rider Stage 14 of this year’s tour. He got in the break on the day that the tour went over the Col du Soulour, staying with Vincenzo Nibali and Tim Wellens over the top and then making his own mad dash up the Col du Tourmalet. He won most combative rider on Stage 12 of the 2018 Tour de France and won best young rider in this year’s Tour of Oman and the same award twice earlier in separate editions of the Tour du Limousin.

The Point d’Appui through the stages so far:

Stage 1 — No fulcrum
Stage 2 — No fulcrum
Stage 3 — No fulcrum
Stage 4 — No fulcrum
Stage 5 — No fulcrum
Stage 6 — No fulcrum
Stage 7 — No fulcrum
Stage 8 — No fulcrum
Stage 9 — Dylan van Baarle of Team Ineos
Stage 10 — Jens Keukeleire of Lotto Soudal
Stage 11 — Jens Keukeleire of Lotto Soudal
Stage 12 — No fulcrum
Stage 13 — No fulcrum
Stage 14 — No fulcrum
Stage 15 — No fulcrum
Stage 16 — No fulcrum
Stage 17 — No fulcrum
Stage 18 — No fulcrum
Stage 19 — Toms Skujins of Trek-Segafredo
Stage 20 — Elie Gesbert of Arkéa Samsic
Stage 21 — Elie Gesbert of Arkéa Samsic

Egan Bernal of Team Ineos won the general classification after strong work in the Alps, including a clear stamp of authority going over the Col de l’Iseran more than 2 minutes ahead of the yellow jersey, Julian Alaphilippe, on Stage 19 when the race was cut short as a result of snow, sleet, hail, rain and mudslides further along the route, real wrath of God kind of stuff. Bernal, the youngest rider in this year’s race, is the first Colombian to win the Tour de France. Sebastian Langeveld of EF Education First held the Lanterne Rouge on the final run into Paris.

Point d'Appui

Crashes Plague Opening Stage of the 2020 Tour de France, Neilands at Middle

Elie Gesbert Takes Point d’Appui in 2019 Tour de France