Our friends at InCycle take a look back at the first two stages of this year's Tour de France, including news from Geraint Thomas, Fabian Cancellara, Dylan Groenewegen, Romain Bardet, Marcel Kittel and Dan Martin, among others, about the opening forays along the coast in Normandy.
InCycle takes a look at 25-year-old Frenchman Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and the expectations that go along with being the home nation's current cycling darling. "It's very special to ride with the big crowds alongside the road, especially for a French rider," Bardet says in an interview.
German Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) stormed back with a win during stage 4 in Limoges, signalling to his rivals that he has truly returned to top form after a difficult 2015 season. He talks with InCycle about what the race means to him. "The Tour de France means for me stress, a lot of hard days within three weeks, but also very nice memories," he says.
New Dutch sprint sensation Dylan Groenewegen hasn't found the podium through five stages, but the 23-year-old LottoNL-Jumbo rider came close on stage 4, when he finished fourth behind Kittel, Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff). The newly crowned Dutch national champion talks about his title and riding in his first Grand Tour.
"To be able to ride in the red, white and blue for a whole year is a very special feeling, especially since you can wear it for three weeks in the Tour," Groenewegen says.
The InCycle crew also catches up with Sondre Holst Enger, the IAM Cycling rider who became an internet sensation for his dance moves on the podium after winning stage 6 at the Tour of Croatia in April. A little coaxing convinces Enger and his dad to reenact the podium performance.
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The video starts with a short catch up on Tour news and gossip with "The Leadout", then picks up with an in-depth look at Groenewegen, Bardet, Kittel and the first two days of the Tour.
