Aurelie Sacchelli, Media365: Published Saturday, July 4, 2026 at 11:51 pm PT.
Clément Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United), who fell victim to a fall during the team time trial after colliding with Guillaume Martin-Guillonnet, will not be able to start the second stage of the Tour de France on Sunday.
Clement Berthe, who finished 25th and 36th in his first Tour de France participation, was hoping to achieve another good result this year. But Grand Boucle is already over for the 28-year-old runner. During the team time trial that took place on the streets of Barcelona at the opening event this Saturday, the Groupama-FDJ United Rodian collided with his teammate Guillaume Martin-Guillonnet at the end of the line and they fell. Berthe was able to regain his time and crossed the finish line in 111th place with a bloody right shoulder and hip. But these were no ordinary abrasions. In the evening, the Groupama-FDJ United team announced that its rider would not be able to compete in the second stage on Sunday because he suffered a concussion and did not respond positively to the team doctor’s protocol. Thus, on Sunday there will be only 183 riders at the start from Tarragona.
Gregoire brings balm to the heart
The good news of the day for Groupama-FDJ United was the 12th place finish of French champion Romain Grégoire. “We knew he was happy with the final, so we adapted the strategy this way,” said Anthony Buyo, the team’s coach. When we see his ending, we can say that Romain is very strong. Of course, he didn’t ride on the flat part, but he had to start riding from the penultimate climb, then on the approach to the last bump. He had a big finish. (…) We wanted to ensure that the commitments were achieved, and the result, if you look at the context, is very good. On the other hand, the fall of Clément and Guillaume is sure to be a huge disappointment. We could have hoped for that sixth place if they had been with us, but first of all there are consequences of this drop.” Let’s hope that Guillaume Martin-Guillonnet also doesn’t suffer the consequences of this fall, even if he manages to leave on Sunday.