{"id":199055,"date":"2025-07-07T08:18:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T08:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=199055"},"modified":"2025-07-07T09:14:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T09:14:53","slug":"van-der-poel-in-yellow-after-two-tense-and-dramatic-tour-de-france-stages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/07\/07\/van-der-poel-in-yellow-after-two-tense-and-dramatic-tour-de-france-stages\/","title":{"rendered":"Van der Poel in Yellow After Two Tense and Dramatic Tour de France Stages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Has any Tour de France ever started more dramatically than Saturday\u2019s stage 1? I don\u2019t know but it\u2019s hard to imagine any more chaotic and, frankly, insane race than what happened on the 184.9km course that started and ended in Lille. If this was a harbinger of the 20 stages to come, I\u2019m going to fasten my seatbelt now and hold on to the edge of my seat because it will be quite a ride.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Van der Poel beats Poga\u010dar to stage win<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But first things first. Mathieu van der Poel won Sunday\u2019s stage 2 by holding off defending champion Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG) and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) in an exciting finale that featured three short, steep climbs over the last 30km and an uphill finish. The reigning cyclo-cross and gravel world champion won his second Tour stage and the second yellow jersey of his stellar career.<\/p>\n

It was Vingegaard, of all people, who kicked off the frantic finale when he burst out of a small lead group on the final climb, the C\u00f4te d’Outreau (880m @ 8.8%), with 5km left to ride in the 209.1km course from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer, the longest stage of the race. Eventually, an 8-rider lead group formed that also included Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Romain Gr\u00e9goire (Groupama-FDJ), K\u00e9vin Vauquelin (Ark\u00e9a\u2013B&B Hotels) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro).<\/p>\n

As the rest of the peloton closed in, Alaphilippe jumped first, with 500m to go, then van der Poel took off 400m from the finish, followed closely by Poga\u010dar and Vingegaard. The Dane faded slightly, but Poga\u010dar kept pace but was beaten by half a bike length. Van der Poel now leads the GC standings by 4 seconds over the UAE team leader, with Vingegaard another 2 seconds behind in third.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar didn\u2019t come out of the stage empty-handed as he will be wearing the King of the Mountains jersey on Monday\u2019s stage 3. And he seems to have enjoyed the battle. “It was everything: rain, stress, hectic, danger, short climbs, just like a Classic, and I was feeling good in the end\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAs a team, we rode really good, but Mathieu was stronger at the finish line today.”<\/p>\n

Vingegaard also had reason to be happy with his performance. \u201cThe result was better than what I expected,\u201d he said on TNT Sports. \u201cI didn’t expect to come third on a stage like this. I’m really happy with my legs, and with how it went.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, those pesky crosswinds <\/strong><\/h2>\n

However, the other GC contenders are not very happy. Evenepoel sits in 18th place, 49 seconds adrift, while Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe) is 21st, with the same time. The reason for the surprising gap is Saturday\u2019s dramatic stage 1.<\/p>\n

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Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd Tour de France\u2122 (@letourdefrance)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n