The second stage of the Tour de France took the peloton to San Sebastian. A few more climbs awaited the peloton, with the Jaizkibel the highlight at the end. The peloton never lost control of a three-rider break, of which American Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) was the last to be caught.
The peloton maintained a high tempo as it climbed the Jaizkibel. Around 25 favorites descended toward San Sebastian, including Team Jumbo-Visma cyclists Van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard, Wilco Kelderman and Tiesj Benoot. The announced sprint was disrupted by a last-ditch attack from Victor Lafay (Cofidis) in the final kilometer. The fast-approaching Van Aert fell just short of catching the Frenchman.
“It's a shame, of course,” Jumbo-Visma sports director Grischa Niermann said. “Everything went pretty well today. Tadej Pogacar took some bonification seconds, but we know he is strong. Today Jonas made a strong impression, and we had four Jumbo-Visma riders in the first group. It's just that Lafay's attack was outstanding. Congratulations to him, but we would have preferred to take the stage win with Wout. Obviously, he is disappointed, which is normal. He is in good form, so there are more chances for him to win a stage.”
Teammate Sepp Kuss of Durango finished 30th, 58 seconds back, and moved up three spots to 28th in the GC.
Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) finished third to move into second in the GC, six seconds behind his teammate and Stage 1 winner Adam Yates. Van Aert moved up six places in the GC to fifth while leader Vingegaard moved up three places to sixth with his 16th-place finish in the lead peloton.
“It was a bit of a scare when Jonas punctured at a crucial moment,” Niermann added. “But all in all, he could catch up with the peloton without problems. My conclusion after today is that we have a strong team. Besides, everyone saw in Jaizkibel who the two best riders on this Tour are. We can live with the fact that Pogacar took a few bonification seconds. Every time, Jonas responded swiftly which is a good sign.”
“After the first two stages, I am happy with my position in the GC and my fitness,” Vingegaard said. “I'm looking forward to the next three weeks. I am where I want to be. Although we were all disappointed after today's stage. We wanted Wout to win here. That is why I decided not to attack when I was alone at the front with Pogacar after the bonification sprint on the Jaizkibel.”
Lidl-Trek leader Mattias finished 23rd, also in the lead peloton, slipping three places in the GC to 11th (+:22). Durangoan Quinn Simmons finished 123rd (+14:10) and is now 125th in the GC (+28:13). Giulio Ciccone had Lidl-Trek’s best finish, crossing 11th and moving up 14 spots in the GC to 21st in the process (+:43)
Lafay moved up two spots in the GC to fourth (+:12) with the stage win and also took the points jersey from Yates. Lafay leads with 65, Pogacar has 42 and van Aert is next with 36.
Powless finished 75th, but strengthened his lead on the King of the Mountain jersey with six more points. How now has 11 KOM points, four more than Pogacar second. Pogacar leads the youth race while Jumbo-Visma still has the fastest team time and Lidl-Trek moved up two spots to fifth.
