Tour de France stage two preview: Classics specialists favourites on punchy finish and could take yellow
It was a wild day, with tension in the peloton ratcheted up by the combination of hectic road furniture in the towns of Normandy and furious crosswinds which swept over open farmland on the route back to the city, the scene of the Grand Depart hours earlier.
Several riders hit the deck, most notably Ineos's time-trial king Filippo Ganna, who suffered a suspected concussion and abandoned the race. Then came the winds which Visma-Lease a Bike used to attack, shattering the peloton and costing Jonas Vingegaard 's podium rivals Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic 39 seconds on the leaders. Unfortunately for Visma, race favourite Tadej Pogacar was wise to the move and finished with the reduced bunch at the front. Alpecin-Deceuninck's perfect lead-out train delivered Philipsen to the home straight and the Belgian sprinter did the rest.
If riders were hoping for a relaxing stage 2 to recuperate then they may be disappointed: today's stage is the longest of the entire Tour, 209km from the small village of Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer on the northern coast of France.
There are four categorised climbs, the latter three condensed into the final 30km, as well as plenty more uncategorised bumps and rises in a leg-sapping finish. The climbs are short - none over 1.1km - but the cat-three Cote du Haut Pichot averages 10.6%, and takes place inside the final 10km, which could be enough to distance the fast men and narrow the field down to a reduced sprint. An enterprising late breakaway could be in with a chance at glory too, with the finish line itself is at the top of an uphill drag.
Crosswinds are again likely to be a factor here, particularly towards the end of the stage when the road turns north and runs parallel with the Pas-de-Calais coast.
The yellow jersey is expected to change hands in Boulogne-sur-Mer, with Philipsen having his work cut out to keep pace with the puncheurs and breakaway artists in the pack. But then Philipsen is no slouch over hills, and he will have a determined Alpecin-Deceuninck squad in support, so there really is any number of possible outcomes.
Unfortunately for the peloton, it promises to be another fascinating day at the Tour de France.
Route map and profile
Start time
Stage two has an earlier start time as there are plenty of kilometres to tick off: 12.35pm local time (11.35am BST). It's expected to finish at 5.20pm local time (4.20pm BST).
Prediction
Stage two looks tailor-made for the puncheurs of the peloton, or even its more versatile sprinters. Expect the real fast men to be distanced but Jasper Philipsen has got more in the tank to get over climbs than most. Yet this stage has got the name of his teammate, punchy Dutchman and lead-out supremo, Mathieu van der Poel, all over it.
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