Ahead of Saturday's opening stage of the Tour de France, the talk was whether to test or deliver the first blow to two-time winner Tadej Pogachar, his UAE Team Emirates, and his main rival for the yellow jersey, Jonas Vingegaard.

There were no major GC moves on the day's first stage, and there was no sign that Pogachar would time the champion, who was riding the peloton for the first time since his season-threatening crash in Ituria Basque.

But the UAE pushed the pace on the Tuscan hills that fill the middle of the 206-km stage across Italy, blowing up the peloton and dropping sprinters one by one.

After the stage finish in Rimini, Pogachar said that he and his team "tested the legs a bit," while he was "not so lucky" as he finished fourth behind DSM pair Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broeck, and Wout van Aert in third place. He added.

"The first day was very good. I tested my legs a little bit on the climbs," Pogachar said. I had a good pace and felt good in the heat."

"I also tried to sprint at the end. I almost beat the two fastest guys, Mads Pedersen and Wout. Bardet and Vandenbroucke had a really good pace and I think they deserved the win."

Pogachar said he was confident that the chase group led by Lidl Trek on the flat to Rimini would catch the DSM pair before the finish. However, even after crossing the Flamme Rouge with only a 10-second gap, they held firm and did not give Van Aert and Pogachar a chance to sprint for the yellow jersey.

"With 4km to go, if I'm not mistaken, I thought I had 25 seconds and could catch them," Pogachar said. If I make the podium, I get a bonus second. I knew that if I made the podium, I would get bonus seconds, because if you make the podium, you get bonus seconds.

Now the focus turns to the second stage, another hilly course in Italy. On Sunday, the peloton heads north to Bologna for two climbs of the steep San Luca climb, the centerpiece of the Giro delle Miglia.

The second climb, which peaks 13 km from the finish, will likely be the first GC showdown of the 2024 Tour.

"I think tomorrow in Saint-Lucas will be more open than today and there will be more battles on the climbs," Pogachar predicted.

"Also, I think we will see more gaps on the climbs than we did today."

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