Vauquelin extends the tricolor dolce vita, Roglic already in retreat… The tops/flops of the 2nd stage

TOPS

Great first for Vauquelin and Arkéa-B&B Hotels

The day after Romain Bardet’s big day, Kévin Vauquelin extended the sweet life of French cycling by winning the second stage of the Tour de France in Bologna, this Sunday. Having left very early in a breakaway quickly validated by the peloton, the Norman from the Arkéa-B&B Hotels team came out at the best moment, with three breakaway companions, before making the difference in the big percentages of the final climb of San Luca. The final 13 km were then a piece of cake for him, the time trial specialist (2nd in the French last week). Time to also savor a great happiness for the 23-year-old rider, “at the bottom of the bucket” the day before and already “revenge” this Sunday. The revenge was brutal, and here he is already a stage winner on the Tour for his first appearance, where he offered the Breton team a first victory that was necessarily historic.

Read alsoTour de France: Vauquelin signs a second French victory, Bardet stripped of his yellow jersey by Pogacar

Pogacar didn’t want to hang around

The yellow jersey has found shoulders that are much more familiar than those of Romain Bardet. In yellow for the first time in his career this Sunday, the Auvergnat was dispossessed of his jersey by Tadej Pogacar, fourth the day before and who arrived a few seconds earlier in Bologna on Sunday. Already insatiable, the Slovenian ogre went to seek the yellow jersey with panache, after a first battle in the San Luca hill with Jonas Vingegaard. Not surprised by the first real-false attack from “Pogi”, the double outgoing winner responded in his wheel and reassured about his state of form. The battle is (already) launched.

Abrahamsen, gluttonous polka dot jersey

Bardet, Vauquelin… and Jonas Abrahamsen. Of all the battles since the Grand Departure from Florence, the Uno-X bounty hunter is the other face of this start of the Tour. In the lead at each difficulty of the day, the Norwegian reinforced his polka dot jersey while taking the bonus and the points from the intermediate sprint posted halfway, after passing the Imola Autodrome. Tireless, as when he tore himself away to come back and seek the points in the first of the two climbs of the Côte de San Luca, the Norwegian continued his effort until the end to obtain second place, only beaten by Vauquelin .

Read alsoTour de France 2024: relive Vauquelin’s great victory in Bologna

FLOPS

Roglic (already) gives up time

Placed among the favourites of the stage for having tamed the Côte de San Luca four times, notably on the 2023 Giro, Primoz Roglic was unable to keep up with the pace of the Pogacar-Vingegaard duo. Dropped in the final ascent of the brutal final climb (percentages between 16 and 20% at the end), the judge of peace of the Tour of Emilia, an autumn semi-classic where he wins every other year (2019, 2021, 2023), the Slovenian has already conceded time to his great rivals. Unlike Remco Evenepoel, who made up for his delay using the strength of his thighs, the climber from the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team is now relegated to 21 seconds of the leading trio. A first admission of weakness for the man who had nevertheless reassured himself by winning the Critérium du Dauphiné at the beginning of June.

Read alsoRed Bull and sporting partnerships, a long-standing romance

Bardet loses the jersey for a few seconds

He sprinted like hell to the finish line but it was already too late. Pointed 21 seconds after Pogacar, Romain Bardet was stripped of his yellow jersey for a handful of seconds, while he could undoubtedly consider keeping it for one more day after the lull planned for this Monday. The fault of the first tremors of the Pogacar-Vingegaard battle in the San Luca bump, where the Auvergne could not follow the imposed pace. “It was the order of things today, there were four stronger guys,” confessed to France TV the interested party, who “still had sore legs from the day before». But this first yellow jersey of his career, certainly not given up without a fight, is already the sign of a successful last Tour. And with his weight now removed, Bardet will be able to play shots again in the future. A blessing in disguise, ultimately.

Read alsoTour de France 2024: Romain Bardet, finally the consecration in yellow

Another day in hell for Cavendish and Jakobsen

A start to the Tour with the appearance of Groundhog Day (An endless endin French) for Mark Cavendish. But unlike Bill Murray, it is not the cold but the stifling heat that disturbs the 39-year-old sprinter, who once again arrived after everyone else this Sunday. 25 minutes of spending added to the 39 of the day before, when the “Missile of Man” had wandered like a lost soul in the succession of hills of Emilia-Romagna. Always well surrounded, with his Astana teammates and his companion in misfortune Fabio Jakobsen (DSM-firmenich), for a time all alone at the back of the race, the Briton will now turn to a flatter stage to try to get out of his interminable ordeal and finally aim for his record 35th victory.