Tadej Pogacar claims yellow jersey but day two belongs to Jonas Vingegaard at Tour de France

So it took Tadej Pogacar just two days to claim the yellow leader’s jersey at this year’s Tour de France. With a searing attack over the top of the final climb into Bologna on Sunday, the big pre-race favourite opened up a 30-second gap over the rest of the GC group as if they were standing still.

The Slovenian is clearly in wonderful form. But at the end of another blisteringly hot day in Italy, the inescapable feeling was that the day had belonged not to him, but to his great rival Jonas Vingegaard.

Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), who has beaten Pogacar to the last two Tour titles, arrived at this race with doubts swirling about him. It had, after all, been less than three months since he suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs and a fractured collarbone in a crash in the Tour of the Basque Country.

The Dane only rode outside for the first time since that crash 54 days ago. Competing for a third Tour title this year seemed unlikely. All the talk was that Pogacar might “whack him” in the first week.

Yet when Pogacar launched his attack on the second ascent of the vertiginous Cote de San Luca, a not insignificant 1.9km climb at an average of over 10 per cent, Vingegaard was the only rider capable of staying with him. In fact, the 27-year-old seemed to do so with ease.

The duo then worked together on the 13km run-in to Bologna, with only Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education First) managing to bridge across to them by the finish, with Evenepoel doing all the work.

That group eventually finished in a group 2min 21sec down on stage two winner, Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), who produced a sensational ride to win from the day’s breakaway, which had earlier been allowed to go nine minutes up the road.

Pogacar, who almost sat up by the finish, allowing Carapaz, Evenepoel and Vingegaard to go past him, seemed almost nonplussed at the finish. He asked Evenepoel while warming down whether the Belgian had taken the yellow jersey, and seemed almost surprised it had gone to him.

Whether he had tried to engineer that outcome, whether he was disappointed to have expended his energy for little reward in the end (his group only ended up taking 21 seconds on the rest of the GC favourites, which included Ineos’ Carlos Rodriguez, Tom Pidcock, and Egan Bernal), whether he was annoyed to have taken the yellow jersey this early, or whether he was completely relaxed about the whole thing, it was unclear.

“It was a so-so day,” said Pogacar, who added that he had felt “super good” on the final finishing circuit and so had instructed his team to go hard on the final climb. “Vingegaard was really quickly on my wheel,” he added. “I’m not surprised by his level.”

Whether Vingegaard will pay for his efforts later in the race, without the race preparation that Pogacar has had, only time will tell. Perhaps Pogacar, on his second grand tour in a row, will be the one who fades in week three. Either way, this felt like a significant day for Vingegaard, a conclusion with which he was in agreement.

“Today was a really good day for me,” he said. “I expected to lose some time to Pogacar, so to be able to follow him feels like a win.”

It was a good day for Britain’s Mark Cavendish, too. After vomiting due to heatstroke on stage one, the 39-year-old looked a lot more comfortable on stage two. Monday’s long flat ride to Turin should afford Cavendish the first opportunity to try to win that elusive 35th stage which would lift him clear of Eddy Merckx and into top spot in the Tour stage winners’ list, a title he has delayed his retirement in an effort to secure.

Stage two: As it happened

04:56 PM BST

Remco Evenepoel moves into white

04:52 PM BST

Abrahamsen takes two jerseys in fantastic ride

04:49 PM BST

Pogacar back in yellow

Its a familiar sight as Pogacar pulls on the yellow jersey in just the second stage. He did the same thing in the Giro d’Italia and held it throughout!

04:48 PM BST

Kevin Vauquelin celebrates his stage win after a fantastic ride

04:46 PM BST

Remco Evenepoel keeps up with the big boys

04:43 PM BST

Pogacar tested Vingegaard today and he got his answer

Fascinating finish and body language from Pogacar. Looked a bit nonplussed at the end. Was he trying to lose yellow? Annoyed at Vingegaard for not working with him to hold Remco off? Annoyed with himself for using energy up for a few seconds on GC group? Or was I imagining it? Either way, he tested Vingegaard today and he got his answer.

04:39 PM BST

The GC battle

As it stands, the updated GC table is:

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 09h 53’ 30’‘

2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) 09h 53’ 30’‘

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 09h 53’ 30’‘

4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) 09h 53’ 30’‘

5. Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) 09h 53’ 36’‘

04:34 PM BST

Jonas Abrahamsen with an outstanding ride

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), who is having a fantastic Tour so far, will move into the green jersey as well as maintaining his polka dot!

04:25 PM BST

Carapaz wins GC sprint

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) won the sprint between the GC candidates, but because of yesterday’s stage placing, Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) will wear yellow.

04:23 PM BST

Pogacar in yellow

Tadej Pogacar will move into the yellow jersey, but it was great work by Remco Evenepoel to limit the damage!

04:22 PM BST

GC sprint finish

Remco Evenepoel bridges the gap amazingly! As the leaders all sprint for the line, the group behind have made significant time as well. Will Pogacar take yellow or will Bardet have kept it?

04:20 PM BST

Remco attacks!

Remco Evenepoel has made an attack of his own with Carapaz joining him on the way.

04:20 PM BST

Second place

Second place goes to Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) who makes the podium and keeps the polka dot jersey with a fantastic ride today.

04:19 PM BST

Vauquelin wins

The stage win goes to Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) in his first ever Tour!

04:18 PM BST

1km to go

With 1km to go, the win will belong to Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – the second French winner in as many stages!

04:17 PM BST

2km to go

Vingegaard and Pogacar pick up a rider from the previous breakaway in their attack.

04:15 PM BST

3km to go

Pogacar steps on the gas and tries to create a gap between himself and Vingegaard, but they are simply inseparable for now.

Vauquelin maintains a 50 second lead at the front of the race.

04:13 PM BST

Interesting that Vingegaard takes Pogacar’s wheel

It was interesting to see Vingegaard right on Pogacar’s wheel when the Slovenian cruised to the front on the first time up the Cote de San Luca.

04:12 PM BST

6km to go

The duo of the two greatest cyclists in this race have already gained significant time on the main group – one of them will surely be in yellow tomorrow!

04:09 PM BST

8km to go

Pogacar and Vingegaard are working together at the front of the race, distancing themselves from the other GC candidates.

04:09 PM BST

9km to go

Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) maintains a 48 second lead at the front of the group.

04:08 PM BST

10km to go

Many GC riders have fallen behind from this attack. It looks like either Pogacar or Vingegaard will move into yellow for tomorrow, should they maintain this lead.

04:07 PM BST

10km to go

Pogacar attacks over the top of the climb! Vingegaard instantly reacts and holds onto his wheel. They are now isolated together on the road.

04:06 PM BST

11km to go

The high pace set by Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) at the front of the race is splintering the peloton.

04:05 PM BST

11km to go

Abrahamsen has been caught by the remainders of the breakaway who are now in a group of five.

04:04 PM BST

12km to go

Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) is still riding hard up the climb, he crosses the line with 44 seconds on Abrahamsen and looks like the stage will be his!

04:03 PM BST

12km to go

As the peloton rides hard up the climb, Vigegaard and Pogacar are inseperable!

04:02 PM BST

13km to go

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) is slowing up, he simply cannot keep pace with Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), who now has half a minute on Abrahamsen.

04:01 PM BST

13km to go

Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) has left the other riders in his dust! He is attacking hard up this climb while, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) is digging in to try and get back. Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) has been completely dropped off.

03:59 PM BST

14km to go

Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) rides hard up the climb, creating significant distance between him and the other two riders in the breakaway.

03:57 PM BST

15km to go

Heading up the Côte de San Luca the final time, the leading three have half a minute on the poursuivants

03:55 PM BST

17km to go

A group of four riders have attacked off the front of the peloton, including Barguil (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan).

03:54 PM BST

18km to go

The three riders are heading towards the bottom of the final climb – the Côte de San Luca again. They have 20 seconds on the remaining riders in the breakaway.

03:52 PM BST

20km to go

Three riders have been able to get away from the bulk of the breakaway: Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).

03:50 PM BST

22km to go

The breakaway are not looking to collaborate with one another anymore, with continuous attacks of riders trying to get away from the group.

03:47 PM BST

23km to go

The lead group maintain a lead of three and a half minutes, heading towards the second climb of the Côte de San Luca. All ten riders from the breakaway have regrouped. We are entering the real business end of the race here.

03:43 PM BST

28km to go

The riders dropped by the lead group have made some of their way back as Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) ups the pace further to put pressure on the others.

03:41 PM BST

29km to go

In the peloton, Pogacar moves towards the front of the group and looks very comfortable on the climb, he could be planning to put time into his General Classification rivals in this stage.

The time gap with the breakaway is three and a half minutes.

03:39 PM BST

30km to go

Only six riders remain from the initial breakaway, as Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) is again allowed to take the two points. Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) takes the sole remaining point.

03:37 PM BST

31km to go

Further down the climb, Visma-Lease a Bike are leading the pack, with Wout Van Aert at the head of the peloton.

03:33 PM BST

32km to go

As the breakaway attack the climb, trying to maintain their distance from the pack, a number of riders are being dropped off the back of the group.

03:30 PM BST

34km to go

The lead group is reaching the bottom of the Côte de San Luca (1.9km at 10.6%). How they perform here will be a huge decider towards if they can make the finish line before the peloton.

With their lead just above four minutes, it will take something extraordinary for them not to be caught.

03:27 PM BST

37km to go

The pace of the peloton has seen it splintered into a number of different groups. There are now six distinct groups of riders – from the breakaway to Jakobsen and co (DSM-Firmenich PostNL).

03:24 PM BST

38km to go

The breakaway is heading towards the final circuit, which will see the riders go over the Côte de San Luca twice. Their lead has just dipped below five minutes.

03:21 PM BST

41km to go

With the peloton picking up the heat, the breakaway’s lead has fallen to five minutes, 20 seconds. They have began to ride harder as the group getting to the line first looks to be less of a done deal than it did before.

03:19 PM BST

45km to go

In the last quarter of the stage, the breakaway has a six minute lead on the peloton. There are three groups that have formed behind the peloton:

• A group of riders, including Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who have recently been dropped, a minute behind.

• Another group, a further two and a half minute behind, including Cavendish and his Astana Qazaqstan teammates.

• A final group another minute behind, consisting of Fabio Jakobsen, flanked by two DSM-Firmenich PostNL teammates.

03:14 PM BST

48km to go

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) crosses the top again uncontested. Just behind him, Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) takes the sole remaining point.

03:12 PM BST

48km to go

It seems like more of the same here as the peloton cross the top of the Côte de Montecalvo. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) leads the way and will likely cross the top uncontested.

03:11 PM BST

49km to go

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe hit the front of the peloton and begin to ride more aggressively. They may not catch the breakaway, but it could mean that Roglic is planning to try and ride aggressively, in an attempt to put time into his General Classification rivals.

03:07 PM BST

49km to go

The breakaway start on the Côte de Montecalvo (2.8km at 7.7%) despite losing time to the peloton, they still have a significant lead at eight minutes.

03:06 PM BST

50km to go

Visma-Lease a Bike take position at the front of the peloton, they are increasing the speed significantly.

03:04 PM BST

52km to go

Some riders in the peloton are struggling on the climb. Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) and six others fall slightly off, 30 seconds behind the peloton.

Fabio Jakobsen (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) has fallen even further off and is riding a minute behind Cavendish’s group, by himself.

02:57 PM BST

57km to go

As the breakaway descend the Côte de Botteghino di Zocca, they have a nine and a half minute lead on the peloton.

02:53 PM BST

59km to go

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) goes over the top first again, with no other riders contesting the sole climbing point available.

02:52 PM BST

60km to go

With 500m to go of the climb, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) is at the front of the breakaway pack. He clearly wants to grab another climbing point to consolidate his lead.

02:48 PM BST

61km to go

The breakaway are heading up the Côte de Botteghino di Zocca (1.9km at 6.9%)

02:43 PM BST

64km to go

The breakaway are heading towards the Côte de Botteghino di Zocca. They have a nine minute, 15 second advantage on the peloton.

02:35 PM BST

70km to go

The time gap between the breakaway and the peloton has now been allowed to grow to nine minutes.

02:33 PM BST

72km to go

Visma-Lease a Bike riders, Wout Van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson both went down but they are both looking unscathed and in decent shape. They pull up alongside their team car to be checked out on the road.

02:29 PM BST

73km to go

The race seems to have calmed down a bit, with the peloton letting their foot of the gas. The time gap between them and the breakaway is now over eight minutes.

02:21 PM BST

80km to go

The first of the peloton through the sprint is Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).

With no team taking control of the peloton, the breakaway’s lead increases to over seven minutes.

02:17 PM BST

85km to go

Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) falls down on the road. He gets up and keeps cycling but seems to be in pain, and to be struggling with his spare bike.

Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) also falls down. Despite riding at 56 km/h when he crashed, he seems in ok condition and carries on.

02:11 PM BST

88km to go

The peloton is fully regrouped now, sitting five minutes, 40 seconds behind the breakaway.

02:10 PM BST

91km to go

No riders in the breakaway were particularly interested in taking points for the green jersey. They all roll over the line, without anybody really going for it.

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) crosses the line first, speeding up at the last minute, and therefore takes 20 sprinting points.

02:05 PM BST

93km to go

The leading group is around 2km away from the intermediate sprint in Dozza. 

01:59 PM BST

99km to go

A group of 12 riders has fallen 40 seconds behind the peloton. It includes Cavendish and his Astana Qazaqstan teammates who will stay with him.

01:55 PM BST

101km to go

The breakaway group is now onto the famous Imola circuit.

01:54 PM BST

102km to go

The breakaway group is slowly losing their advantage. The gap has now fallen to five and a half minutes.

01:51 PM BST

The last hour will sort the wheat from the chaff

Just arrived in Bologna. Press cars were allowed to do a lap of the finish circuit and I can assure you the Cote de San Luca – which the riders will do twice – is punchy; 1.9km at 10.6% average gradient does not sound like much but it starts hard and there are ramps of 19% (on the inside of one bend). It is going to sort the wheat from the chaff. The second time up it offers time bonuses, too, so the GC guys will be on red alert. After the second time up, there’s roughly 13km to the finish. Feels like Roglic and Pogacar etc will be gunning for the bonuses (and will try to put Vingegaard under pressure). You’d imagine there will be a select group sprinting it out at the finish. Should be a cracking last hour.

01:46 PM BST

109km to go

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) bags himself two more points, again uncontested over the top. The sole point available for second over goes to Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).

01:44 PM BST

110km to go

2 points again for the first over the top here. With 250m of the climb left, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) is leading the way.

01:37 PM BST

112km to go

The 10-man leading group are approaching the bottom of the Côte de Gallisterna (1.3km at 12.8%).

01:35 PM BST

113km to go

After getting back on the flat, the trailing group (including Cavendish) rejoin the peloton.

01:33 PM BST

116km to go

Ten riders have fallen off the back of the peloton, and sit roughly thirty seconds behind. The group includes Mark Cavendish, and his Astana Qazaqstan teammates who have stuck with him.

01:28 PM BST

119km to go

The peloton have made inroads on the breakaway over the climb – cutting the time difference down to six minutes, 40 seconds.

Bram Welten (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) has also been dropped from the leading group and has already lost one minute, 50 seconds on them.

01:27 PM BST

120km to go

Breakdown of points won on the Côte de Monticino:

2 points – Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility)

1 point – Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech)

01:22 PM BST

124km to go

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) is the first over the climb, grabbing himself two more points. He was uncontested over the top, which makes today’s breakaway look like an ideal situation for him. None of the other riders are interested in getting those points.

01:20 PM BST

125km to go

With 300m left to go up the climb, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) leads the way

01:17 PM BST

125km to go

The breakaway group has began their climb up the Côte de Monticino. Expect Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) to attack, in an attempt to tighten his grip on the polka dot jersey.

01:10 PM BST

129km to go

The break are nearing the bottom of the Côte de Monticino (2km climb with a 7.5% gradient), they maintain an eight minute lead on the peloton.

01:04 PM BST

133km to go

DSM-Firmenich PostNL are still in control at the front of the peloton – their riders John Degenkolb and Nils Eekhoff lead the pack.

12:59 PM BST

137km to go

Slight collision in the peloton as the crowd get too close. Luckily no riders were hurt and everyone could carry on.

12:49 PM BST

143km to go

The breakaway group has been allowed to gain some serious time by the peloton – they have a gap of eight mintues.

12:41 PM BST

148km to go

Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) failed in their attempt to bridge the gap, and have been swallowed up by the peloton.

12:38 PM BST

151km to go

The streets are lined with fans today, in particular cheering the name of the Italian champion – Alberto Bettigol (EF Education-EasyPost).

12:29 PM BST

Fuelled on Haribos

I’m on the road from Cesanatico to Bologna. There’s a fair bit of traffic around Imola, where I was for the F1 last month. I imagine the peloton will be moving a lot quicker than we are right now. Who will take the chequered flag today? Pidcock perhaps? Remco? Van der Poel? The Dutchman got a big cheer when he left his bus to go to sign-on this morning.

Also passed Mark Cavendish on his way to sign-on and he looked pretty fresh. Will be interesting to see how he copes today given it’s another scorcher. Car temp gauge says it’s 34C. Wonder whether Astana’s hot weather protocols are as sophisticated as other teams?

My fuelling strategy today mainly based on Haribo from the Tour village.

12:24 PM BST

160km to go

Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) have realised they will not be able to catch the breakaway and drop back towards the peloton.

12:20 PM BST

163km to go

The leading group are riding hard, they see their time advantage on the peloton rise to six minutes.

12:17 PM BST

165km to go

The pair of Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) are struggling to catch up with the front group, who see their gap grow to two minutes, 20 seconds.

12:13 PM BST

167km to go

DSM-Firmenich PostNL have taken up place at the front of the peloton, riding for Romain Bardet’s yellow jersey.

12:10 PM BST

170km to go

After the first 30km of the stage, the leading breakaway group have one minute, 46 seconds on the pair trying to bridge the gap. The duo, in turn, sit three minutes, 30 seconds on the peloton.

12:07 PM BST

172km to go

Over the first 15km of the stage, the breakaway has rode 7km/h faster than the peloton.

12:03 PM BST

176km to go

There is no real General Classification threat in the breakaway. The highest ranked rider is Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), who sits in 61st place, over 15 minutes behind top sport.

12:00 PM BST

177km to go

List of riders in the leading breakaway:

Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Wanty), Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Bram Welten (DSM-Firmenich PostNL).

They currently have three minutes, 45 seconds on the peloton.

11:52 AM BST

183km to go

Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny) is joined trying to bridge the gap by Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), while the breakaway now has two minutes on the peloton.

11:49 AM BST

188km to go

The breakaway, which looks to include a number of strong riders, sits 30 seconds ahead of the peloton.

Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny) is by himself, trying to catch the breakaway group.

11:46 AM BST

190km to go

A group has managed to get some distance ahead of the peloton. The group consists of 10 men, including the polka dot jersey – Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility).

11:44 AM BST

192km to go

There have been a few attempts on the front of the peloton, however, so far no group has been able to get away.

UAE Team Emirates seem to be leading the peloton in shutting down any hopeful breaks.

11:39 AM BST

Update on Michele Gazzoli

The Italian, who was forced to abandon yesterday, was suffering with gastrointestinal problems due to heatstroke.

11:38 AM BST

197km to go

A group of eight riders has made a small attack off the front of the peloton.

11:36 AM BST

Flag dropped

The flag has been dropped and the real racing is underway!

11:35 AM BST

Van Den Broek most combative

Alongside leading in both the green and the white jerseys, Frank Van Den Broek (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) will also wear a distinctive number, for being recognised as the most combative rider of yesterday’s stage.

11:31 AM BST

Channeling Pantani

Today’s stage departs from the home town of cycling legend Marco Pantani, as well as riding over the roads on which he used to train.

Notably, Pantani is the last Giro-Tour double winner, having completed the feat in 1998. Pogacar has made no secret of the fact he is aiming to equal Pantani’s double this year, and could look to try to put time into his General Classification opponents today.

11:27 AM BST

Who is wearing the jerseys today?

After his emphatic victory yesterday, Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) will wear the yellow, while his teammate Frank Van Den Broek will wear the green.

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) will sport the polka dot jersey, while Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) will wear the white. Van Gils sits second in the young riders classification, however, since the leader – Van Den Broek – is wearing green, Van Gils takes the white today. 

11:26 AM BST

Roll-out

The riders have set off on their neutralised roll-out from Cesenatico, with the racing set to get going soon.

11:23 AM BST

Stage two: Cesenatico – Bologne

After an exciting opening stage, which saw Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Frank Van Den Broek (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) pip the peloton to the finish line, a mid-stage vomit from Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), and big names such as David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) dropped, we’re back in action for the second stage of the 2024 Tour de France.

Stage two presents us with a flat start in Cesenatico, followed by rolling hills over the 200km stage, taking the riders through to Bologna.

On the way the riders head to the Imola motor racing circuit, and over the same roads where Julian Alaphilippe won the World Championships in 2020.

The riders will still be feeling the toils they faced in yesterday’s stage, which was the hilliest opening stage the Tour de France has ever seen and included 3600m of climbing as well as extreme heats.

Astana Qazaqstan were one of the teams who fell victim to the tough profile of the opener to the greatest extent. Michele Gazzoli (Astana Qazaqstan) was forced to withdraw in the first stage of his debut Tour due to the heat, while Cavendish – the man they have built their team around – threw up mid-race as a result of the high temperatures.

There were some worries that Cavendish wouldn’t make the time cut-off but he made it safely within the designated time, saying: “That was so hard. So hard. But we had a plan and we stuck to it. Okay, it didn’t go exactly as we wanted. We would have liked to have done one more climb with the peloton. But the start was so hot. But we made it around ok.”

Many predicted an attack from race favourite Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in the opener, in order to test Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), but he chose to ride within the peloton throughout. Today may be the stage where he makes his move in an attempt to pick up the jersey. It was in the second stage, after all, that he took the leaders jersey in the Giro earlier this year, and held onto it throughout.

Alongside Pogacar, a few others that may be vying for a stage victory today are: Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).

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