Italian time trial giant Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) has become the first abandon of the Tour de France after the consequences of a mid-stage fall proved too much, with Ganna pulling out some 40 kilometres further on.
Ganna fell heavily on a right-hand bend, reportedly spinning over the bars, and initially, after a lengthy period evaluating his injuries and getting a bike change, he opted to continue.
After needing a shoe change because of a damaged cleat, Ganna was visibly struggling, and 40 kilometres further on, he got into the team car.
Ganna's exit is a major blow for Ineos Grenadiers, who had been hoping that the Hour Record holder and former World Time Trial Champion would be a major factor in Wednesday's race against the clock.
With eight stage wins across the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, Ganna had been hoping to complete his Grand Tour 'set' in the Tour this year and had recently conquered the Italian TT title for a sixth time.
Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) crashed not long after Ganna and he also dropped out of the Tour.
After a very calm first half of stage 1, when the race hit crosswinds and a series of small climbs, the crashes began to multiply and some riders suffered badly in the mixture of splits and technical sections.
One of the most bizarre crashes came on the top of the Mont Cassel category 4 ascent where breakaways Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Mattia Vercher (TotalEnergies) collided shortly after they had reached the summit.
Thomas seemingly skidded on the cobbles, lost control of his bike as he snatched a second KoM point of the day, and brought down Vercher as he fell.
Others dropped or lost contact on a fraught, wind-blasted, chaotic second half of the stage for shorter or longer periods, included Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike), Lenny Martínez (Bahrain Victorious), Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlAla) and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers). Most could rejoin the peloton, although Martínez was visibly not on a great day., while Simon Yates needed a bike change and then had a long chase.
Like Ganna Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) also crashed heavily but could continue, while former double World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) was another top name in difficulties. But the full evaluation of injured, sick and dropped riders would have to wait until after the stage.
2025 Tour de France abandons
Stage 1
- Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) - Head injury, concussion protocol.
- Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) - Head injury, concussion protocol.
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