Tour de France Stage 2: The Flattest of the Race
Another day for the sprinters, Stage 2 covers 182.5K from Mouilleron-Saint-Germain (which hosts the Tour de France for the first time) to La Roche-sur-Yon (which hasn’t hosted a stage finish since 1938). An early Category 4 climb means the battle to make the day’s long breakaway will be fierce, but with one of the flattest stage profiles of the entire Tour, sprinters should again rule the day.
The finish is a bit trickier than Stage 1’s, with a sharp right-hander just inside 2K to go as the race loops around and under a bridge. This could be a day where positioning makes the difference, as there won’t be much of a chance to make up for mistakes before the road starts rising slightly to the line. Weather won’t be an issue, as another beautiful day is in the forecast.
The Tour’s overall contenders will again do their best to avoid more late-stage crashes by keeping themselves near the front of the peloton. Chris Froome, Richie Porte, and Adam Yates all lost time near the end of Stage 1, a stark reminder of how tense and dangerous these “easy” early stages can be. Of course, Saturday’s crashes will make riders even more nervous as they try to avoid a repeat of the first day’s bad luck.
Fernando Gaviria leads the Tour after his victory in Stage 1, but with time bonuses of 10-, 6-, and 4-seconds available on the finish line, the yellow jersey could end the day on someone else’s back. Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel, yesterday’s second- and third-place finishers, are in the best position to overtake Gaviria. But as we saw at the end of Stage 1, anything can happen during the first week of the Tour.
Riders to Watch
With a slightly uphill finish, it’s another great day for Gaviria and Sagan. But don’t rule out Kittel, Andre Greipel, and Mark Cavendish. Arnaud Demare, who missed the Stage 1 sprint due to a big crash with 10K to go, should also do well.
When To Tune In
Wait as long as possible to catch the end of this one. By the Tour’s fastest estimate, the stage is due to end at about 11:20 a.m. EST, so tune in about 20 minutes before then to watch the late-race action unfold.
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