Cycling: Mathieu van der Poel won the second stage of the Tour de France. The Dutchman triumphed after 209,1 kilometers in Boulogne-sur-Mer, ahead of world champion Tadej Pogacar.
Van der Poel climbs into the yellow jersey
After 209,1 kilometers from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer, the anticipated duel of the titans unfolded. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) prevailed in the uphill sprint ahead of Tadej Pogacar (UAE – XRG). Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) sprinted to third place, somewhat surprisingly . Such a finale doesn't usually suit the Dane. However, today he demonstrated that he is alert and in good form. Van der Poel's victory secures his team Alpecin – Deceuninck their second consecutive win, following Philipsen's victory yesterday. Thanks to the time bonus, he also takes the yellow jersey from his teammate.
Four brave escapees without a chance
In heavy rain, a four-man group broke away from the peloton right at the start of the race. Bruno Armirail (Decathlon – AG2R La Mondiale), Brent Van Moer (Lotto), Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS – Astana), and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) only managed to stay with the group until 50 kilometers from the finish before being caught. Nevertheless, Norwegian Leknessund won the mountain prize on the Côte de Cavron-Saint-Martin, and the sprint classification in Énocq went to Kazakh Fedorov. Consequently, the remaining riders only sprinted for fifth place. Despite this, the intermediate sprint was fiercely contested. Almost imperceptibly, Jonathan Milan (Lidl – Trek) narrowly edged out Tim Merlier (Soudal – Quick-Step) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty). Interestingly, Merlier did not participate in yesterday's intermediate sprint. He was fully committed today.
Many attacks in the final
Wout van Aert (Visma – Lease a Bike) upped the pace on the climb to the Côte du Haut Pichot . While some splits appeared in the peloton over the crest, the pace eased again with almost 30 kilometers to go. The finale finally began on the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont. Once again, it was the Visma – Lease a Bike team that increased the tempo. A nine-man group then broke away, including the three top favorites for the overall victory, as well as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck). However, several groups regrouped before the Côte d'Outreau. Initially, a trio consisting of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma – Lease a Bike), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa – B&B Hotels), and Alexey Lutsenko (Israel – Premier Tech) escaped. But the gap was quickly closed. With 2,0 kilometers to go, Florian Lipowitz (RB Bora-hansgrohe) made his move. The German attacked and rode solo into the final kilometer. But Team UAE-XRG wasn't having any of it and closed the gap in time.
| Mathieu van der Poel! Phenomenaal! The Nederlander won the two stages and pact of gele trui in Boulogne-sur-Mer. #TourdeFrance
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