The fact of the day
In Rimini on Saturday, Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Emirates) hadn’t moved so he was eager. One lap to gauge this San Luca wall, another to test himself and see how Jonas Vingegaard would react. Like a Formula 1 driver, “Pogi” waited for the “S” to put his face on and we really thought he was going to have to brake to not go too wide. Once this scare had passed, we could see that in his wheel, the Slovenian was still taking his best enemy, that damned Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike).
No, the duo did not finish as a pair, seeing the return of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) who should not be put aside too quickly and the surprising Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) who should never be buried. But the first skirmish between the leaders did indeed pit Pogacar against Vingegaard, in the sense you want. If we had any doubts about the Dane’s form, his immediate reaction to Pogacar’s attack reassured us.
This time it’s for real: Pogacar really tests Vingegaard on the San Luca hill
San Luca is not the Galibier, the Tourmalet or the Bonnette but precisely, on a two-kilometer bump with frightening percentages, Pogacar is at home, Vingegaard less so. Punchier, the new yellow jersey often surprises its opponents who never manage to come back. The Dane wasn’t really surprised, he was expecting his rival’s move, and he managed not only to jump on his wheel but also to keep it.
Obviously, we should not draw hasty conclusions from this first duel, except that if Jonas Vingegaard collaborated with Tadej Pogacar, it is perhaps because this year the addition of a very solid Remco Evenepoel and a slightly below-par Primoz Roglic changes the situation. Either the leader of Visma is not sure that the Tour de France will be the same duel as the last three years, or he is already racing for the podium. Allow us to doubt it.
The big loser
The term “big” loser is probably an exaggeration for Romain Bardet, but losing the yellow jersey by six seconds must be hard to swallow for the leader of DSM-Firmenich PostNL who got stuck on the second climb of the Côte de San Luca. In good shape, the Frenchman still caught the group of other favorites and he only needed six seconds to save this beautiful yellow jersey. Infuriating.
Picture of the day
Kevin Vauquelin, obviously! After Romain Bardet on Saturday, France offered itself a second success on this 2024 Grande Boucle which has not yet set the slightest toe on French soil. Never before has Arkéa-B&B Hôtels won a single stage on the grand tours, it opened its counter in style!
Vauquelin triumphs, but Bardet loses the yellow jersey: the finish of the 2nd stage in video
We liked
The fight for the yellow jersey. Dropped on the last climb of the day, Romain Bardet held on enough to believe it. When Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz came back to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the quartet could have looked at each other. It didn’t happen.
The composure of Kevin Vauquelin. Axel Laurance confided, he made a youthful mistake in the first ascent of San Luca while showing his strength. Vauquelin hid from him and only came out of the woods at the perfect moment for his first big victory.
We didn’t like
Not seeing Primoz Roglic at least in the wheel of Remco Evenepoel at the top of the last climb of the day. The Slovenian from BORA-Hansgrohe was the only one of the group of four to disappoint.
The fall of Wout Van Aert who, definitely, is having a complicated time in the Tour de France. Frustrated in 2023 at not having won a stage victory, he starts again on the same basis in 2024, with the added bonus.
The statement: Tadej Pogacar
It was an attack to test myself
At the state: 56
If in 2023, Victor Lafay had allowed France to open its counter from the second day, French cycling had never managed to double. Something already done in 2024 with Vauquelin after Bardet. It’s been 56 years since the Blues last achieved such a feat.
Just to know
Were there many who thought that Jonas Vingegaard would manage to hold off Tadej Pogacar in the San Luca hill?
Liberated by his stage success and now dispossessed of the yellow jersey, will Romain Bardet return to battle on Tuesday and the Valloire stage via the Galibier?
Did you notice Remco Evenepoel’s power on the flat to fill the gap on Pogacar and Vingegaard?
