There wasn’t anything too surprising about the way stage 2 of the Tour de France finished up. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) attacked where we thought he would, he got away as we thought he would, and then from a group of three he won the sprint he was expected to. And yet, as predictable as it might have been, there was something undeniably thrilling about watching it unfold.
Alaphilippe is one of the sport’s greatest showmen, and he proved that again yesterday. And dedicating the win to his father, who passed away just a couple months ago? A lovely moment to cap off a stirring performance.
Today’s photo gallery brings you all the action from stage 2 of the 2020 Tour, courtesy of photographers Kristof Ramon, Ashley and Jered Gruber, and Cor Vos.
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- The Stavanger Stallion, Alexander Kristoff, was resplendent in all yellow at the start of stage 2.
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- Peter Sagan was in green for approximately the one millionth time in his career. Note: he didn’t actually lead the points classification going into the stage — Kristoff did, but the Norwegian was busy wearing yellow.
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- Could we see Estaban Chaves vying for a stage win in the mountains later in the race?
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- There was some questionable social distancing going on at the Deceuninck-QuickStep bus pre-stage.
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- Stage 2 started and finished in Nice with plenty of climbing along the way.
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- What could be better than riding up a mountain then having a nap in the sun while you wait for the race to arrive?
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- Toms Skujins was part of a breakaway that was eventually caught with 40 km to go.
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- The peloton descends off the Col de Turini, the second and final Cat 1 climb on the day.
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- It was always going to be a tough ask for Kristoff to keep yellow on such a mountainous stage. He ended up finishing more than 28 minutes down.
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- Geology fans, we’ve got you covered.
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- Could we see Andre Greipel in the mix in a sprint finish at this year’s Tour?
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- Sam Bewley is on debut at the world’s biggest race.
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- While Giacomo Nizzolo would have been thrilled to win the European road title the other week, it did come with one big downside: UCI rules mean he has to wear this jersey, as nice as it is, instead of his Italian champion’s kit. Che peccato!
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- What sport is contested in a better stadium than cycling?
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- The race returned to Nice with 18 km to go before a final climb up the Col des Quatre Chemins.
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- It was on that final climb, with 13.3 km to go, than Julian Alaphilippe put in the attack everyone expected. Marc Hirschi was the only one who could follow …
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- Yates was in the leading trio on stage 2
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- The leading trio pushed hard on the way back into Nice …
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- … with peloton closing in from behind.
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- The trio left it very late to start their sprint …
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- … but when they did, Alaphilippe hit the line first, just holding off 22-year-old Hirschi who was closing quickly. Alaphilippe pointed to the sky as he crossed the finish, a tribute to his father who passed away a couple months ago.
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- It was an emotional victory for one of the sport’s greatest entertainers.
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- And now, a year and a bit after spending 14 days in the maillot jaune, Alaphilippe is back leading the Tour de France. If his defence last year is anything to go by, we’re in for a hell of a show.
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