Emotions were running high after the opening stage of the 2024 Tour de France in Rimini. Not only because local French favorite Romain Bardet won a breakaway stage victory and took the yellow jersey for the first time in his career in the last race of his career.

Leading the peloton behind Bardet and DSM-Filmenig-Post NL teammate Frank van den Broeck was Belgian star Wout Van Aert.

Van Aert, who had competed in the Tour of Norway and the Belgian championships before starting his sixth Tour de France, made a long comeback from the broken ribs, collarbone, and sternum he suffered in the Doire and looked emotional at the finish.

During this time, he was forced to miss the Tour de Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and his Giro d'Italia debut. But third place in the first stage was reason enough for an emotional outburst, despite the fact that a few days earlier he had said that he had never started a Tour in such bad shape.

"I'm really happy to get another result like this," Van Aat said with tears of relief as he crossed the finish line at the Adriatic resort. 'Of course I'm disappointed that I didn't come close to winning, but I never thought I'd be here at this level, and it feels really good.' [Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek) and Alex Aramburu (Movistar) also finished in the top 10, but temperatures reached an uncomfortable 35°C.

The route and conditions, combined with mid-stage pacemaking by UAE Team Emirates, meant that only 46 riders finished in the main group behind Bardet and Van den Broeck.

Van Aert said he was in a more positive mood, in contrast to the other riders he saw struggling throughout the five-hour stage.

"Throughout the race I saw a lot of riders struggling," he said. 'Especially on the last four climbs. Especially on the last four climbs. The first two were the hardest, so once I got over those I started to feel confident."

"I also asked the riders to give their all for the stage win. It's a shame we didn't win the stage, but I'm proud of my performance and how we rode."

"I'm very proud of my performance and how we rode," he said.

His Vimaris A bike was the majority of the team for the last 52 km of the stage, including the last three climbs. The Dutch team was joined by Lidle Trek, who later worked for Pedersen, but was unable to catch the DSM duo.

However, team leader and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard was also on his first day back in the peloton after a crash in Ituria, Basque Country.

"I don't think [Jonas] was in trouble," Van Aert said of his Danish teammate. 'It was another super busy day on the twisty roads.'

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