Tour de France 2025: Van der Poel sprints to stage two victory and into yellow jersey
The Dutch rider thwarted Tadej Pogacar's attempt to take the 100th win of his career, outsprinting the defending Tour champion on the steady final climb of the Boulevard Auguste Mariette.
His teammate Jasper Philipsen, wearing the yellow jersey after winning stage one to Lille on Saturday, was distanced in the closing kilometres and Van der Poel took the race lead from the Belgian sprinter.
Pogacar's main rival, Jonas Vingegaard of Visma Lease-a-bike, followed the Slovenian across the finish line, with the Olympic champion, Remco Evenepoel, distanced on Saturday's stage, showing greater vigilance to finish in the front group.
But for the hapless French rider Benjamin Thomas, who crashed on Saturday's stage while fighting his compatriot Matteo Vercher for a single point in the mountains classification on Mont Cassel, Sunday morning dawned with the news that his bike, along with 10 others from the Cofidis team worth about €140,000 (£120,000), had been stolen from their vehicles overnight.
Monday is likely to be another sprinters' stage, with a third tricky day through the Nord and towards the Channel, this time to Dunkirk, in which the cobbles of Mont Cassel and the crosswinds off the sea will again play their part.
Guardian
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Police officer injured as knife-wielding man is arrested at Tour de France near race finish line
A POLICE officer has been injured by a knife-wielding man at the Tour de France. The man was arrested after trying to disrupt the race between Amiens and Rouen. Advertisement 1 A man has been arrested at the Tour de France after stabbing a police officer Credit: AFP The incident took place near the finish line and the suspect was neutralised by police. It is believed he began to run away from the cops before turning around and stabbing an officer. It is understood the man is 21-years-old and is on the run after escaping a hospital on June 24. Advertisement READ MORE IN SPORT According to A local journalist witnessed the incident, which occurred at 2:30pm, and revealed: "I saw the police rush at him when he fled. "He had the knife in his hand and dropped it when a police officer hit him." THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. Advertisement Most read in Sport The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video . Like us on Facebook at
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Open organisers poised to move tee times amid concerns of loyalist parade disruption
The R&A is considering a plan to start the third round at this month's Open Championship early to minimise disruption from a planned loyalist parade in Portrush. More than 60 bands and 2,000 participants are expected to begin their march through the streets of the town shortly after thousands of spectators would be leaving the sold-out Royal Portrush if organisers stuck to typical tee times. The R&A has been concerned for some time about the logistical challenges associated with the simultaneous events on Saturday week. Significant congestion for people leaving the course, or thousands choosing to depart early to avoid this, have been uppermost in the thoughts of the major's organisers. It was reported last month that the Portrush Sons of Ulster, who organise the parade, voted against rearranging their march after a request from the R&A. The third round of the Open would ordinarily finish at 8pm BST, with the parade due to commence at 8.15pm. The R&A would not comment specifically on its preparations. However, it is understood that tee times will be adjusted. A spokesman for the R&A said: 'We are working on plans to minimise disruption for our fans leaving the championship due to the event taking place in Portrush on the Saturday evening.' How much leeway the R&A has remains to be seen due to live American television coverage requirements. The time change is therefore unlikely to be big but any alteration would still be notable. R&A officials had previously promised to 'explore potential mitigations to ensure fans can get home smoothly following the end of play'. Standard adult tickets for round three cost in excess of £120. The 153rd staging of the Open, which runs from 17-20 July, will be the biggest sporting event to take place in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, before this week's Scottish Open, Xander Schauffele has backed Keegan Bradley's bid to be a playing captain for the United States in the Ryder Cup. Bradley's recent win at the Travelers Championship opened up the concept of the dual role. 'He's playing the best golf of his career,' said Schauffele. 'We just want our best 12 playing. He is just flying up that standings leaderboard. 'Would I be surprised if he got into the top six and wasn't even a conversation any more? I don't think I'd be very surprised and I don't think he would, either.'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Spanish police release Diogo Jota statement shedding new light on tragic crash
Spanish authorities have indicated for the first time that Liverpool star Diogo Jota is believed to have been behind the wheel of the Lamborghini involved in the fatal crash that claimed the lives of the footballer and his brother André Silva. The police have also said that initial tests hint that the 28-year-old Jota may have been in excess of the permitted speed limit on that particular stretch of the motorway, as per the Mirror. Jota and his younger sibling, 26, were laid to rest on Saturday after their deaths in the early hours of Thursday morning near Zamora, Spain. The tragedy occured shortly after Jota had wed his long-time partner Rute Cardoso on June 22, with whom he has three children. Tributes from across the world have flooded in ever since. In what is only their second formal communication since the last week's incident on the A-52 by Zamora, close to the Portuguese border, the Civil Guard said: "The expert report is still being worked on and finalised. "Among other things traffic police from the Zamora branch of the Civil Guard are studying the tread marked by one of the wheels of the vehicle. "Everything is also pointing to a possible high excess of speed over the permitted speed on that stretch of the motorway. 'All the tests carried out for the moment point to the driver of the crash vehicle being Diogo Jota. The expert police report when it is finalised will be handed over to a court in Puebla de Sanabria.' Liverpool's squad arrived at Kirkby for their initial pre-season training on Tuesday morning. This comes just three days after the funeral of their colleague in Portugal. Mohamed Salah shared a moving tribute on social media saying he would struggle with the absence of Jota as the team gathered again. "I am truly lost for words," the Egyptian star posted last week. "Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back." Head coach Arne Slot expressed that the sense of loss is overwhelming, saying: "He was a loved one to all of us." Jurgen Klopp, who signed Jota for Liverpool in 2020, also shared his sorrow on Instagram. The Merseyside club's summer schedule included a friendly against Preston North End at Deepdale this coming Sunday. Nevertheless, whether the game will proceed remains uncertain, with Slot due to consult with the players about their willingness to play in the fixture or not.
