Tour de France Week 1 Recap With Guests Geraint Thomas and Lachlan Morton
The first week of the Tour de France brought more than its usual share of moving storylines, from Julian Alaphilippe’s first stage win dedicated to his newborn son, to Mathieu van der Poel’s stint in yellow in memory of his late grandfather Raymond Poulidor, and of course Mark Cavendish’s triumphant return to top form. And after a slew of opening stage crashes, the GC race appears to be settled already. Tadej Pogačar has had an incredible week, firmly establishing himself as the man to beat. But the 22-year-old phenom faces the inevitable doping scrutiny that comes with any stellar performance these days. We discuss the murmurs going around the Tour press room and online.Plus, we check in with Geraint Thomas of the Ineos Grenadiers during the first rest day, who is in good spirits despite a tough first week where he suffered from a dislocated shoulder and fell out of contention for a second Tour de France win. And meanwhile, as the Tour de France gears up for another week, Lachlan Morton of the EF Education–NIPPO has been continuing his Alt Tour where he’s riding the entire Tour course, including transfers, unsupported. We caught up with him while he took a brief rest from his impressive progress—he’s on track to beat the Tour to Paris—somewhere in the Rhône Valley. He catches us up on the difficulties and positives of his journey.Aérogramme is presented by @hyperice.