In the 111th Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar claimed the yellow jersey after finishing the second stage alongside his rival Jonas Vingegaard. The Slovenian cycling star dethroned Frenchman Romain Bardet to take the top spot in the overall rankings. The stage victory went to breakaway rider Kevin Vauquelin from France.
The day’s challenges included a steep climb up to the pilgrimage church in San Luca, which featured an average gradient of 10.6 percent over 1.9 kilometers and was completed twice. This climb provided the first test of strength among the race’s top contenders, with Pogacar launching an attack that Vingegaard managed to match. Remco Evenepoel also caught up with the leading duo on the descent.
The extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, posed difficulties for the riders on Sunday’s stage. Even veteran rider Mark Cavendish was unable to keep up with the peloton, continuing a trend from the previous day.
As Monday’s stage approaches, sprinters like Belgian Jasper Philipsen will have an opportunity for a mass finish. The 230.8-kilometer third stage from Piacenza to Turin features mostly flat terrain, with three fourth-category climbs sprinkled throughout the route.
