Tour de France: Mathieu van der Poel wins stage 2 and is the leader
The third place was taken by the Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Visma), considered Pogacar’s biggest rival.
The same order is in the general classification. The leader, thanks to the bonus, is ahead of Pogacar by four seconds.
Kamil Gradek (Bahrain-Victorious), the only Pole in the field, finished 163rd on Sunday, almost 11 minutes behind the winner.
The second stage was almost 210 kilometres long (the longest in this year's event) and consisted of several minor climbs, including in the decisive part of the competition.
"It was extremely difficult and the final was more difficult than I thought," said Van der Poel.
"People were saying earlier that I was the favourite for this stage. But if you look at how the riders were on the climbs, I think I did really well," he added.
The group with all the favorites of the race, including the two-time 2024 Olympic champion Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), reached the finish line with 26 people.
The next to lose 31 seconds was the previous leader, Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who dropped to seventh position in the general classification.
A flat stage of 178.3km from Valenciennes to Dunkirk is scheduled for Monday.
| Results of stage 2, Lauwin-Planque - Boulogne-sur-Mer (209.1 km) |
|---|
| 1. Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4:45.41 |
| 2. Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia/UAE Team Emirates) |
| 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Visma) |
| 4. Romain Gregoire (France/Groupama-FDJ) |
| 5. Julian Alaphilippe (France/Tudor Pro Cycling) |
| 6. Oscar Onley (UK/Team Picnic PostNL) |
| 7. Aurelien Paret-Peintre (France/AG2R La Mondiale) |
| 8. Kevin Vauquelin (France/Arkea-B&B Hotels) |
| 9. Simone Velasco (Italy/XDS Astana) |
| 10. Jenno Berckmoes (Belgium/Lotto Dstny) - all same time |
| 163. Kamil Gradek (Poland/Bahrain-Victorious) 10.57 |
| Overall classification: |
| 1. Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 8:38.42 |
| 2. Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia/UAE Team Emirates) 4 seconds behind |
| 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Visma) 6 |
| 4. Kevin Vauquelin (France/Arkea-B&B Hotels) 10 |
| 5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma) |
| 6. Enric Mas (Spain/Movistar Team) both same time |
| 7. Jasper Philipsen (Belgium/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 31 |
| 8. Joseph Blackmore (UK/Israel-Premier Tech) 41 |
| 9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Norway/Uno-X Mobility) |
| 10. Ben O'Connor (Australia/Team Jayco AlUla) both same time |
| 166. Kamil Gradek (Poland/Bahrain-Victorious) 13.33 |
(PAP)
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Source of information: Polish Press Agency
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