Van Aert, with the help of his teammate Christian, breaks away again to win the race ahead of the other escapees.
On June 30, around 11 p.m. Beijing time, the 2024 Tour de France Stage 2 (Cesenatico – Bologna) concluded. Early in the race, ten riders broke away, and later, Van Aert, with the support of Christian, surged ahead to claim victory. Pogačar and his rivals finished together, donning the yellow jersey. Let’s review the race.
The 199-kilometer race started in Cesenatico in eastern Italy, heading northwest, with six climbs and one sprint point along the way. The first 70 kilometers were mostly flat, favorable for breakaway riders. The main peloton, led by GC teams, would accelerate in the last 20 kilometers, but the breakaway riders would strive to maintain their lead, launching a battle on the San Luca climb, where the strongest would seize the opportunity to solo to the finish line.
▲Stage 2 Route Map
Amidst the cheers of the Cesenatico crowd, the race began. After the start, Van Aert, Rodriguez (Ag2r-Citroën), Parche (FDJ), Lawrence (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ten Dam (Wanty-Gobert), among others, formed the breakaway group. With the first 70 km being flat, and these riders over 10 minutes behind the yellow jersey holder Bardet on the GC, the main peloton allowed them to have their freedom, as the gap grew to nine minutes at one point.
As the riders passed the Imola racetrack, they entered a neutral zone to honor the late Formula One driver Senna, as per prior agreement.
Exiting the track, the main group faced setbacks: Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had a mechanical issue, requiring a bike change, and later, a crash occurred, involving Van Aert, Jorgensen (Vismara), and De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers), among others. Fortunately, they only sustained minor injuries and rejoined the peloton after treatment.
With the breakaway entering the final 70 km of climbing, they held a 10-minute advantage over the main group. DSM, fearing for Bardet’s position, took control of the peloton’s pace-setting, with Vismara providing support. Approaching San Luca, they reduced the gap to around four minutes.
In the breakaway, Van Aert, Abrahamson, and Oliveira attacked on San Luca, leaving the others behind. But just before the steepest part of the climb, Van Aert accelerated again, dropping the rest and embarking on a solo effort.
In the main group, UAE Team Emirates launched a mountain attack, helping Pogačar, with only his rival Vingegaard able to match him. Other GC contenders, despite their efforts, lagged behind, initially losing about 30 seconds to Pogačar.
After the second passage of San Luca, Pogačar and Vingegaard realized they couldn’t catch the leading nine riders and slowed down, allowing Ewan and Carapaz, who were 45 seconds behind them, to close the gap. The four, along with Jordan, who had been dropped from the breakaway, finished together. As Pogačar had finished fourth in Stage 1, he took the yellow jersey from Bardet.
In a post-race interview, Van Aert said, “Today’s breakaway was really challenging for me, but I’m thrilled to have delivered on my goal. Thanks to Christian for helping me with the drafting and positioning for my decisive attack; it made all the difference.”
At the end of the race, Pogačar claimed the yellow jersey, Abrahamson took the green and polka dot jerseys, while Ewan secured the white jersey. Stage 3 (Piacenza – Turin) is scheduled for July 1 – stay tuned.
