Tour de France: Dutch rider Mike Teunissen is surprise winner of opening stage 

BRUSSELS — Apart from the celebrations of Eddy Merckx’s first victory at the Tour de France half a century ago, nothing went according to plans on opening day of the race.

In cycling-mad Belgium, defending champion Geraint Thomas was caught in a crash Saturday and toppled over his handlebars in the finale of the first stage. The race leader’s yellow jersey ended on the shoulders of a relatively unknown rider who switched from zealous teammate to ace sprinter.

After the pile-up tore the peloton apart and played havoc with sprinters’ teams, Mike Teunissen posted the biggest win of his career with an unexpected yet remarkable stage win at the expense of former world champion Peter Sagan, the king of sprints in recent years at the Tour.

Caleb Ewan, an up-and-coming sprinter, took third place on the finish line in Brussels.

The first days of the Tour are always tense and marred by race incidents, and this year’s race is not going to be any different.

“The finale was not dangerous,” Teunissen said after an impressive burst of power in the final meters that allowed him to nip Sagan. “It’s only because the riders were nervous that it was dangerous.”

The opening day stage could have turned into another nightmare for Thomas’ Ineos team, which already is without four-time champion Chris Froome. The British rider was ruled out of the Tour last month after suffering multiple career-threatening injuries at a warmup race.

But Thomas escaped unscathed. The former track specialist was riding at the front of the race when the spill occurred and he bumped into barriers.

“I’m fine. It was pretty slow by the time I hit them,” he said. “I gave myself enough space and avoided the actual crash but with the barriers there was nowhere to go. The main thing is that it didn’t do any damage. This first week is all about just getting through.”

Thomas’s teammate Egan Bernal, another top contender, did not fall but was also held up by the crash. The pair did not lose time as per race regulations because the accident occurred within the final three kilometers.

Jakob Fuglsang, another favorite, also hit the tarmac about 12 miles from the finish in a separate crash. The Astana team leader remounted his bike with blood on his face and right knee, and tears on his jersey. He needed stitches for a cut above his right eye.

“I think he’ll be OK,” said Astana team director Alexandre Vinokourov. “First week in the Tour de France is always the most dangerous for the guys.”

Teunissen, the first Dutch rider to wear the yellow jersey since Erik Breukink 30 years ago, showed solid nerves after the second spill took out of contention his Jumbo-Visma teammate Dylan Groenewegen, the team’s best sprinter.

Teunissen was initially set to be part of Groenewegen’s leadout train but quickly turned his focus to personal goals once his leader went down. In the slightly uphill section leading to the finish line on the leafy Avenue du Parc Royal, Teunissen perfectly timed his effort to deny Sagan a 12th stage win at the Tour.

“I thought all the work we had done for quite a long time was suddenly gone,” he said. “But I felt good and thought I could maybe achieve a top five. I was relaxed, with nothing to lose. I opened up and I had a lot of power. It got me to second position and I saw Sagan was going slower than me. I threw myself at the line. Mission accomplished.”

Teunissen did not get carried away with his win, though, and promised to keep working for Groenewegen if he recovers well.

“It’s only unfortunate for Dylan, hopefully he is OK and can sprint again in a few days,” he said. “Still, we have the yellow jersey in our room, it’s really strange but also very nice.”