The winner of the 2024 Tour de France second stage is born.

The first Tour de France stage victory in the history of the Arkéa team.

Kevin Vauquelin of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team secured the team’s first-ever victory in the Tour de France. Pogačar launched an early attack on the climb of the Montagne de Saint-Luc, and as expected, only Vingegaard was able to respond swiftly, signaling the start of the GC battle in the Tour de France.

In the second stage of the 2024 Tour de France, French cyclist Kevin Vauquelin from the Arkea-B&B Hotels team rode solo for 14.3 kilometers, successfully capturing the victory. This marked the first-ever stage win for the Arkea team in the history of the Tour de France, and also continued the streak of French cyclists dominating for two consecutive days. Eight kilometers into the race, a breakaway group of 10 riders formed. Due to the intense heat, the peloton’s chase was not very aggressive, allowing the gap to reach a maximum of 9 minutes.

Although the climbing in this stage is not as significant as the first, with only 1859 meters of elevation gain, the race is by no means easy. The final two ascents of the Montagne de Saint-Luc (1.9 kilometers, with an average gradient of 10.6%) determined the ultimate outcome of the race. Roglič commented after the race, “There are no easy sections on Saint-Luc.” In this stage, he fell behind by 21 seconds on the general classification (GC) standings. Within the breakaway group, Vauquelin, Oliveira, and Ybarra created a gap from the other riders. On the second climb of Saint-Luc, as the gradient became steeper, Vauquelin accelerated, leaving his opponents behind to ride alone and maintained his lead all the way to the finish line.

Pogačar: This proves that I am strong.

Tadej Pogačar suddenly accelerated during the second climb of Saint-Luc, with only Jonas Vingegaard able to closely follow his pace. The two quickly opened a gap over the rest of the field and even seemed to cooperate for a while. However, after reaching the top of the climb, they both deliberately slowed down, and before the finish, Mathieu van der Poel and Richard Carapaz rejoined the competition. These four riders had the same time on the general classification (GC), and Pogačar, thanks to his excellent performance in the previous stage, successfully donned the yellow jersey.

Tadej Pogačar is so powerful that it’s hard to believe it has been 718 days since he last wore the yellow jersey. About two years ago, Pogačar collapsed in the last 4 kilometers of Mont Granon, which he described as one of the worst days of his cycling career. Since then, he has been trying to regain the yellow jersey, and today, in the hot Bologna, the former Tour de France champion finally got his wish and wore the yellow jersey again. “It feels great to wear the yellow jersey again. Last year, I was so close to success, but then I collapsed. Today, wearing the yellow jersey feels fantastic. Even though there is no practical benefit to wearing it at the moment, the feeling is great, and it’s enough to prove my strength,” Pogačar said after the race. “During the last two climbs of Saint-Luc, I felt extremely good. The Jumbo-Visma team accelerated the pace during the first climb, and during the second climb, I decided to attack and test my condition. Vingegaard reacted quickly and followed my attack. I’m not surprised by the con

Vingegaard is Virtually Back to His Normal Level

Jonas Vingegaard has no intention of hiding his condition. In April, he suffered a severe injury, and everyone is concerned about the level to which he can recover. The steep climb of Saint-Luc (with a maximum gradient close to 20%) is undoubtedly a severe test. Such a sharply changing short slope is more advantageous for Pogačar, not to mention Vingegaard after his injury. However, Vingegaard’s performance was astonishing, showing that he is almost back to his normal level.

”I think this might be one of the stages I fear the most,” Vingegaard said after the race. “I was prepared to lose time in this stage. To be honest, I wasn’t fully prepared for the Tour de France; I only had a month and a half for training, so I’m satisfied with today’s performance, especially being able to follow Pogačar on the second climb.”

Vingegaard excels in long climbs, and on short, sharp climbs like Saint-Luc, Pogačar has the advantage, and Vingegaard admits to feeling apprehensive to some extent. “Before my crash, this was a stage more suited to him than to me, and even more so after my injury,” said Vingegaard. When Pogačar made his move, Vingegaard responded quickly, demonstrating his consistently astute tactical thinking.

After this stage, among the four riders leading the GC standings, the pre-race favorites, the “big four” GC contenders—Pogačar, Vingegaard, and van der Poel—are all included. However, Roglič has been replaced by Carapaz. Will it continue to be a battle between Vingegaard and the others? Do the other GC riders have a chance? Let’s wait and see.