Top Banana: Tour de France stage 2 – Tony Gallopin

Top Banana: Tour de France stage 2 – Tony Gallopin

As is so often the case in the Tour, today’s fight at the back of the race was just as compelling as the one at the front

Racing

They say that bad luck comes in threes. Superstitious or not, Tony Gallopin will be hoping that his quota of misfortune for this year’s Tour de France has been filled.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Gallopin received a phone call telling him that his house had been broken into, and his car stolen.

A few hours later he was crashing hard into the Düsseldorf tarmac, his front wheel having slid out from beneath him. The Tour prologue was not overly technical, but every corner was slick with rain and Gallopin was not the only rider to fall foul of the treacherous conditions.

By the morning of Stage 2, Gallopin’s Tour had hardly improved. No calm and collected morning of preparation for the Frenchman: instead, he was trying to force his heavily swollen and strapped left foot into his shoe. No fracture, we are told, just considerable pain.

The show must go on: miracles and mishaps at the Grand Départ.

Fractured or not, you could hardly hold it against Gallopin should he have decided to throw in the towel. The prologue had already claimed two abandons in Alejandro Valverde and Ion Izagirre: they were soon joined by a third when Australian Luke Durbridge climbed into the team car early on in Stage 2. 

Not so Tony Gallopin. Over 200km from Düsseldorf and the Frenchman was still clinging onto the back of the peloton to claim 177th. Not quite the lanterne rouge for the unluckiest man in the peloton – hopefully Rouleur’s Top Banana will do instead. 

The Rouleur Top Banana goes to an unsung hero of each stage of the Tour de France – not the winner, not the yellow jersey – but a rider whose efforts deserve recognition 

 

The post Top Banana: Tour de France stage 2 – Tony Gallopin appeared first on The world's finest cycling magazine.

Racing

READ MORE

Different rider, familiar result: Bredewold wins SD Worx's fifth Classic of the year

Different rider, familiar result: Bredewold wins SD Worx's fifth Classic of the year

Mischa Bredewold seizes the opportunity to claim the biggest win of her career at the Amstel Gold Race

Leer más
Amstel magic ushers in a topsy-turvy, unpredictable week of Ardennes Classics

Amstel magic ushers in a topsy-turvy, unpredictable week of Ardennes Classics

Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose takes shock victory at Amstel Gold Race, beating Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel in three-up sprint

Leer más
Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert

Evenepoel, Van Aert, and the pursuit of a long-awaited victory

Neither Remco Evenepoel nor Wout van Aert is used to waiting this long for a first win of the season, but their own particular missions...

Leer más
Making a statement: Can Elisa Longo Borghini's impressive form carry her to a maiden Ardennes victory?

Making a statement: Can Elisa Longo Borghini's impressive form carry her to a maiden Ardennes victory?

The Italian champion's cobbled Classics campaign may have been blighted by a heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders, but her form is seemingly as...

Leer más
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition 2025 preview: Demi Vollering is back

Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition 2025 preview: Demi Vollering is back

The first of the Ardennes Classics could see a reduced sprint, unless the climbers can make attacks stick

Leer más

READ RIDE REPEAT

JOIN ROULEUR TODAY

Get closer to the sport than ever before.

Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines.

SUBSCRIBE