Tour de France, Stage 2: Victor Lafay Did It!

The second stage, length of 209 km, set off from Vitoria-Gasteiz at 12:30 PM to reach San Sebastián. Once again hilly, perfect for puncheurs, with the Jaizkibel climb 16 km from the finish. 

Yesterday, on the first day, it was the Yates brothers who took the top two spots in the classification. Adam edged out Simon by just four seconds. The two favorites, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, found themselves in a small group 12 seconds behind the lead, which isn’t a significant time loss. In the group were: Gaudu, Pinot, among others. Alaphilippe and Bardet finished 33 seconds behind the winner. 

An intense start to the race 

It was after ten kilometers that the leading group formed. Among them was the reigning points jersey holder, Neilson Powless, as well as the French national time trial champion, Rémi Cavagna. Also present was the Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen. Several riders attempted to bridge to the front, but the peloton did not let them go. So, the break consists of three riders at the front. 

Not much happened during the first hour of racing, except for the intermediate sprint, which was won by the Norwegian. The peloton sprint was claimed by Philipsen. 

Points for the best climber awarded to Neilson Powless 

The American from EF Education-EasyPost led the first two climbs of the day, earning him three additional jersey points. At that moment, he was five points ahead of his main rival Pascal Eenkhoorn, who was not in the breakaway. For the third climb of the day, as has become customary, Neilson Powless was first over the summit, as was the fourth climb. Meanwhile, the mountain classification leader dropped his two companions in the break. 

A final climb as a cherry on the cake 

Starting the ascent at lightning speed, with gradients of 6%, Jumbo Visma propelled the peloton. The peloton, trailing by 1’30” behind the lone breakaway rider, caught Neilson Powless with 2.8 km to the summit. No clear explanation for this last challenge of the day, but a sprint for bonus seconds was won by Tadej Pogačar ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and Simon Yates. 

In the descent, Vingegaard did not launch an attack alongside Tadej Pogačar. They were caught by the yellow jersey group. 

In the finale, Pidcock attacked, Bilbao as well, but no gaps were created. Victor Lafay made a move in the final kilometer, during a lull in the race; the Cofidis rider attacked from the left side of the road and held on by a few meters ahead of Wout Van Aert and Tadej Pogačar. 

General classification :

1. Adam Yates 
2. Tadej Pogačar 
3. Simon Yates 

Also read: Tour de France Guide: the composition of the last 6 teams, including Jumbo Visma