Tadej Pogacar seized the leading position donning the prestigious yellow jersey, while Kevin Vauquelin triumphed in the second stage of the Tour de France, that was held in Bologna. Having emerged victorious in the Giro d’Italia just over a month ago, Pogacar set his sights on accomplishing a double triumph in the Grand Tours, initiating his pursuit with a strategic strike in the demanding San Luca climb. Only Jonas Vingegaard, the reigning champion, could keep pace, whilst Remco Evenepoel laboured to regain lost distance on the descent, to prevent conceding ground to his competitors. Several prominent names like Primoz Roglic, Carlos Rodriguez, Egan Bernal, Simon Yates, Tom Pidcock and Romain Bardet, the conqueror of Saturday’s stage, amongst others, failed to keep up, lagging by 21 seconds behind the newly annointed leader. Pogacar, when questioned about his intentions of claiming the stage win, disclosed that he abstained from it due to the challenging trail and sweltering heat conditions, which would have entailed demanding more from his team. Pogacar now wears the yellow jersey, however, the day also marked a significant milestone for Vingegaard, who reentered racing after recovering from a series of injuries that he sustained in the Basque Country in April. He exemplified his resilience by demonstrating that he could compete with Pogacar. Even as the favourites reached the bottom of the San Luca climb for the second time, they remained closely positioned. As they cycled alongside the emblematic 666 arches under the vigilant watch of the Madonna of San Luca, Pogacar patiently awaited the right moment to strike. With Adam Yates, a member of his UAE Emirates team, pacing strongly and causing the group to fracture, this resulted in Bardet and Roglic, along with Geraint Thomas, falling behind, preparing the field for Pogacar to make his decisive advance.
Vauquelin, a 23-year-old touring novice, claimed his inaugural Tour stage victory and the inaugural triumph for the Arkea-B&B Hotels team. The accomplishment was achieved following his participation in a breakaway of ten riders during a 199km stage originating from Cesenatico, with Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel trailing by two minutes and 21 seconds.
The breakaway group had diverged after the first climb of San Luca, once it was apparent that the peloton would not be able to overtake them. Vauquelin made a striking move, distancing himself from Nelson Oliveira and Jonas Abrahamsen as they approached the second climb and managed to separate himself as the terrain started to steepen.
“Participating in the Tour de France is a colossal achievement in itself. However, securing a stage win and delivering the team’s maiden victory fills me with immense joy,” expressed Vauqelin after securing his second consecutive victory for French competitors in the race.
Following a rather challenging initial couple of days, the focus will shift onto sprinters on Monday. That’s when Mark Cavendish will have his first chance at securing a record 35th Tour stage win during the 231km stage towards Turin; this stage is the lengthiest in this year’s Tour.
Ireland’s Ben Healy, another debutant to the Tour de France, secured the 49th position in the second stage, trailing Vauquelin by four minutes and 12 seconds. Sam Bennett managed to secure the 141st position as he girds up for the sprint on Monday.
In the overall classification, Healy sits in 39th spot, two minutes and 44 seconds behind the leader. Meanwhile, Bennett is in the 150th position.