Tour de France stage two. Van der Poel punches a punchy climb.
Pogacǎr and Vignegaard take second and third to reaffirm their dominance.
A day of testing, probing, an early pop quiz for the legs of all the GC contenders.
After yesterday’s foolish nap by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) and Primož Roglic (Red Sleeping Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), a mistake that cost them both 49 seconds, we assumed they’d be vigilant and ready to answer any questions.
For two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vignegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and three-time winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), it was an opportunity to probe each other’s climbing legs. Yes, the massive mountains in the Pyrenees and Alps were far over the horizon but it’s never too early to run a few simulations.
The final thirty kilometers of the stage from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer proved to be a tense battle for stage honors, le maillot jaune, and an early opportunity for top GC riders to land a psychological blow.
There were four short Cat 3 and 4 climbs, with two of them packed into the last 10km. The gradients jumped to 10% — an ideal launch pad for Primož Roglič (if he was on-point) or Tadej Pogacǎr (if he felt like landing an early punch.)
The uphill finish and the bonus seconds at the finish were also cat nip for stars like Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and jack-of-all-terrains, Wout van Aert (Visma Lease A bike). Van der Poel had already led his sprinter Jasper Philipsen to victory yesterday on stage one, and this short, power climb has his name in ALL CAPS.
The stage played out with crystal ball precision. Vignegaard attacked with about five kilometers to go. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) gave it a go but it was quickly a no-go. Kévin Vaquelin (Arke2a-B&B Hotels) tried to crack his rivals and was joined by Vista’s Matteo Jorgenson. A well-timed move without quite enough wattage. Punch, counter-punch, everyone put to the test.
Pogacǎr came to the front along with Evenepol and Vignegaard. The Heads of State delivering the hurt. In the final kilometer it was the three riders from the 2024 Tour de France podium setting a pace few could follow. Deja-vu all over again.
Even Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) gave it a shot in the final 600k. It was short-lived and quixotic but did shake some extra spice into a tense finale. Van der Poel muscled his way to the front, true to the script, and shot forward, creating an instant gap.
His acceleration was matched by an attentive Pogacǎr, who fought him to the line but he could not ultimately beat the Belgian. Vignegaard left the smallest of gaps to Pogacǎr but passed this mini-quiz with flying colors.
"It was super difficult, the final was actually harder than I thought," said Van der Poel. “People said I was a favorite for today, but if you see which riders were up there on the climbs, I think I did a really good job to be there."
That is a stone cold fact. When you have Pogacǎr and Vignegaard on your wheel in an uphill Tour de France climb and you cross the line first, well, yeah, that qualifies as a good job. With a yellow jersey to boot.