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Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sprinted from the front and fended off a charging Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates XRG) for a bullish victory on stage 2 of the Tour de France.

The win gives the Dutchman the second yellow jersey of his career after his maillot-wearing teammate Jasper Philipsen was gapped in the final.

“It was super difficult, the final was actually harder than I thought,” Van der Poel said at the finish.

“I was really motivated, it’s been four years since I won my first stage of the Tour de France,” Van der Poel said. “It was about time that I won a second one.”

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished third in the gruelling uphill kick of two dozen riders.

Like stage 1 on Saturday, he and his”Bees” were aggressive through the closing hour, with Wout van Aert active forcing a split around 30km out, and U.S. star Matteo Jorgenson attacking off the front in the final 5km.

The result leaves Van der Poel, Pogačar, and Vingegaard at the top of GC, separated by only 6 seconds.

‘A dream’ start for Alpecin Deceuninck

Van der Poel was top favorite for Sunday’s classics-style final, but it was far from easy for the strapping Dutchman – and it wasn’t only because of monument arch-nemesis Pogačar.

It was a who’s who of puncheurs and climbers who came to the grinding 800m ramp to the finish in Boulogne-Sur-Mer.

GC hopefuls Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) were there, as were the on-form Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), Oscar Onley (Picnic-Post NL), and Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa).

“Of course people put me as a favorite for today, but if you saw which riders were in front on the climbs, I think I did a really good job today to be there,” Van der Poel said.

Visma-Lease a Bike was a big aggressor of the day Sunday, but Alpecin-Deceuninck was the winner in more ways than one.

The Belgian crew will see its second day in yellow on Monday’s third stage ahead of a whole week suited to Van der Poel, Philipsen, or third leader Kaden Groves.

“Yes, I think it is a dream for the team, the first two days,” Van der Poel said. “I think everything else now that comes now is just a bonus.”

Super team showdown and a new version of Vingegaard?
UAE Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike took control in the final 30km. (Photo: LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

The bunch saw another tough day at the Tour de France on Sunday.

The 210km stage was the longest of the race, and it was far from straightforward.

Pouring rain at the start gave way to drier roads but endless tension as the course wound toward the windswept North Sea coast.

The two superteams lit the fuse on the stage at 30km to go.

Visma-Lease a Bike in particular drilled the pace over the Cat.3 Côte du Haut Pichot and dropped many of the heavy sprinters.

The final 10km was perfect for a big brawl between Pogačar and Van der Poel. A cat.3 and then cat.4 climb were stacked back-to-back before a leg-sapping uphill final kick.

Jorgenson briefly forced a heavyweight split over the first summit. Vingegagaard, Evenepoel, Van der Poel, and Pogačar were there, while Roglič was forced to chase across in the groups behind.

UAE Emirates pushed the accelerator with Jhonatan Narvaéz on the final climb at 5km to go, but it was Vingegaard who moved first.

The resurgent Dane made a violent acceleration over the summit that kick-started a series of scrappy attacks before the final kick for stage honors.

Is this a new super-aggressive version of Vingegaard for 2025? It sure looks like it, and its worthy of the popcorn.

Sprint beefs?

Hints at some sprint beef emerged at the intermediate sprint, 52km from the final.

Angry gestures and probably several four-letter words flew after a half-dozen sprinters accelerated for the points left available behind the doomed breakaway riders.

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Brian Coquard (Cofidis), and Paul Penhoëtt (Groupama-FDJ) were in the heat of the argument. There was no clear reason what caused the animosity, but it’s an intriguing subplot for the remainder of the race.