Cycling: Kevin Vauquelin has won the second stage of the 2024 Tour de France. The Frenchman was able to break away from a breakaway group on the last mountain and reach the finish in Bologna as a soloist. This is the greatest success of his career and gives his French team Arkea - B&B Hotels their first stage win in the Tour. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have also laid their cards on the table, attacking together and gaining their first time.
Vauquelin shows all his class
Second stage of the Tour de France 2024 – second success for the breakaway riders. After yesterday Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) took the yellow jersey thanks to an excellent team tactic, the next Frenchman was able to celebrate the day's victory today. The 23-year-old Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) was part of an eleven-man breakaway group that, to the surprise of many spectators and experts, actually won the stage. When the Côte de San Luca was climbed for the second and final time, he broke away from his companions and rode solo towards the day's victory. Yesterday he lost around 30 minutes and thus already said goodbye to the fight for the top ten in the overall ranking. Now we know: He is on the hunt for stages here. The yellow jersey was taken over directly by Tadej pogacar (UAE), which together with counterparty jonas vingegaard (Visma – LaB).
Eleven breakaway riders chasing the stage win
The route from Cesenatico to Bologna was 199,2 kilometers long. Because of the Côte de San Luca (1,9 km with 10,2%), a mass sprint was almost impossible. This was the chance for the breakaway group, in which Quentin Pacher (Groupama – FDJ), Axel Laurance (Alpecin – Deceuninck), Hugo Houle (Israel – Premier Tech), Nelson Oliveira (movistar), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea – B&B Hotels), Mike Teunissen (Intermarché – Wanty), Bram worlds (dsm-firmenich – PostNL), Harold Tejada (Astana), Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility). It was particularly important for the last-mentioned Norwegian to be there again today. The wearer of the mountain jersey was able to collect more points and will be able to start in the dotted category again tomorrow.
Vauquelin attacks on the Côte de San Luca
The man sent as a guard Bram worlds (dsm-firmenich – PostNL) dropped back into the main field during the stage. Since no one there really wanted to be involved in the chasing work, the breakaway riders' lead quickly grew to over nine minutes. The ten remaining men then realized that they could decide the day's victory among themselves. As expected, the Côte de San Luca then decided the race. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea - B&B Hotels) was by far the strongest in the breakaway group, was able to quickly put a few meters between himself and his former companions and almost enjoyed the last 12,5 kilometers towards the finish line. This means that the French are celebrating their second daily victory on the second day of the 2024 Tour de France.
Pogacar also attacks, but Vingegaard goes with
About four minutes behind Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) the group of favourites crossed the Côte de San Luca. As expected, Tadej pogacar (UAE) made his first attack. The Slovenian shot past everyone in the steepest section, but jonas vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) was there immediately. While Pogacar wanted to pull through, the Dane refused to take the lead from time to time. Nevertheless, the duo managed to pull away and gain a considerable lead over some of their competitors. So Tadej Pogacar already takes over the yellow jersey today. As the loser of the day, Primois Roglic (Bora – hansgrohe). Because while Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick Step) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education – EasyPost) were able to catch up again, the Slovenian lost a few seconds in the fight for the podium.
Second stage of the Tour de France, second French victory! Major number author Kevin Vauquelin takes over the Bologna coast! #LesRP #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/aY0uRDadSM
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) June 30, 2024