Too many things and nothing clear in the first week of the Tour

We conclude the first third, or rather we should say the first half after a longer than usual initial week that has taken us to the tenth of the 21 stages that make up the race, in which Tadej Pogacar has laid the foundations for a new victory in the Tour de France, although with a slight hint of doubt sown by the enormous level of Jonas Vingegaard.

Crashes, traps, changes of leader... that's how the intense initial week of the Tour de France has been

Although, on paper, the Tour de France seemed to have opted for a traditional flat start to the race, favoring sprinters and with stages of pure survival that burdened climbers with excessive effort, and where avoiding falls became the top priority for the general contenders, the truth is that, despite all this, the race has offered us much more.

The sprinters, of course, had their chances, with Jasper Philipsen seeming destined to achieve a new green jersey until an unfortunate fall on the way to Dunkirk sent him home on the third stage. Tim Merlier, twice, and Jonathan Milan have been in charge of competing for the throne of speed in a dispute that will see many more duels until the end of the Tour.

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In the rest of the stages, the Tour has given us some beautiful leg-breaking routes, full of small climbs, which have made boredom impossible over these 10 days of racing that have been contested with room for the display of a highly motivated Mathieu van der Poel, who not only took the yellow jersey but, after losing it in the time trial, was able to wear it again after a tough day due to the heat through the fields of Normandy.

Not content with that, the Dutchman ventured into a crazy breakaway in a completely flat stage, one of those that are inexorably destined to end in a sprint, and almost pulled off a surprise after being caught when only 800 meters were left to the finish.

We also saw Tadej Pogacar launch his first attacks, in which the news is that Jonas Vingegaard has managed to hold the wheel of the Slovenian with apparent ease. In any case, his sprinting ability in the finishes has already earned him two stages in this Tour de France, which would have been three if it weren't for the class of Mathieu van der Poel who stole the victory from him in stage 2.

However, in terms of the general classification, the big test, as expected, was the flat time trial held in Caen. A time trial in which Remco Evenepoel asserted his favorite status, although without the strength he would have needed for the upcoming mountain stages, a terrain in which he has already shown his weakness. This, combined with the great time trial by Tadej Pogacar and picking up bonuses here and there, has allowed the Slovenian to start laying the foundations for a new victory, leaving him with a one-minute lead over Remco Evenepoel and 1:17 over Jonas Vingegaard as the Pyrenees approach.

Tadej Pogacar leaves the impression in these early stages of the Tour de France of being a much more mature cyclist, not wasting energy on a grand exhibition but, so far, limiting himself to winning when the opportunity arises and doing what he needs to in the time trial while trying to save energy to the maximum, with the constant reminder not only of the tremendous level shown by Jonas Vingegaard despite his bad day in the time trial, but also aware that his team is inferior to Visma-Lease a Bike, especially after the unexpected withdrawal of Joao Almeida.

In any case, we will soon find out, and the passage through the Pyrenees, both due to the great difficulty of its two mountain stages and what the uphill time trial to Peyragudes may bring, will make it clear whether Vingegaard is as good at climbing as he appears or if Pogacar's caution is just a precaution against what his rivals may do or that he is not as super as he also appears.

Apart from these two, there doesn't seem to be any cyclist capable of challenging for the yellow jersey, especially considering that Remco Evenepoel has shown weakness in climbs from the beginning without even reaching the high mountains yet, and with the rest of the top 10 in the general classification, including Primoz Roglic, clearly behind the level of Pogacar and Vingegaard.

And what about Ben Healy, the unexpected leader after the first mountain stage, after brilliantly winning a stage a few days ago and facing the start of the mountains with a completely new role for him. Will he be a fleeting leader or will we witness a story similar to that of Ben O'Connor in the last edition of the Vuelta a España?