Tadej Pogacar Leads after Vauquelin's Stage Victory

Tadej Pogacar took the yellow jersey as Kevin Vauquelin won stage two of the Tour de France. Vauquelin, from Arkea-B&B Hotels, claimed his first Grand Tour stage victory by breaking away from the lead group, becoming the second French winner in this year’s race. Pogacar, riding for UAE-Team Emirates, powered up the final climb of the 199.2km stage to Bologna, Italy, with last year’s winner Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike. Though they crossed the line together, Pogacar donned the yellow jersey due to his higher placing in the first stage. Pogacar explained he didn’t aim for the stage win to conserve his team in the heat. He tested himself in the final but stayed cautious overall.

Pogacar, Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step, and Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost now share the same overall time. Primoz Roglic lost 21 seconds to Pogacar and Vingegaard, finishing in a group of general classification hopefuls including Carlos Rodriguez, Egan Bernal, Tom Pidcock, Simon and Adam Yates, and Romain Bardet. Geraint Thomas, supporting Rodriguez and Bernal, finished over four minutes behind. Monday’s race covers 230.8km from Plaisance to Turin, likely ending in a sprint finish, offering Mark Cavendish a shot at a record 35th stage win.

Stage Two Results:

1. Kevin Vauquelin (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels) 4hrs 43mins 42secs
2. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +36secs
3. Quentin Pacher (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +49secs

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 9hrs 53mins 30secs
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick-Step) Same time
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) Same time