Remarkable Stage 2 FInish for Julian Alaphilippe – Julian Alaphilippe dispelled any lingering gloom hanging over the Grand Depart of the 2020 Tour de France by speeding to victory and therefore the race leader’s yellow jersey within the 186 kilometre second stage to the Promenade des Anglais, in Nice.
Julian Alaphilippe wins Stage 2 and takes yellow jersey. #TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/KyLoU33y6W
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) August 30, 2020
The hugely popular French rider, who led the Tour for 14 days in 2019, slumped on the bottom in tears and dedicated victory to his father, who died in June, after narrowly outsprinting Marc Hirschi of Switzerland and Britain’s resurgent Adam Yates.
“It’s always special to win on the Tour, but this is often a special year,” Alaphilippe said. “It’s been a very difficult year on behalf of me . I just want to dedicate this victory to my dad.”
A mountainous stage through the Alpes-Maritimes burst into life on the short final climb, the Col des Quatre Chemins, a minnow compared to the enormous ascents of the Colmiane and Turini tackled earlier within the day, but with gradients ideally suited to Alaphilippe’s trademark punchy accelerations.
When the Frenchman attacked on the steepest sections, only the little-known Hirschi and a surprisingly rapid Yates could follow. Yates led over the highest and therefore the trio then worked together to distance the pursuing peloton as they sped backtrack the corniche roads to the great seafront.
“I’d asked the team to form it hard within the finale and that’s what we did,” the French rider said. “There weren’t many riders left on the last climb.”
But neither Hirschi nor Yates had an adequate answer to Alaphilippe’s finishing burst and, with the peloton hot on their heels and shutting fast, the 28-year-old opened his sprint and powered across the road and into the Tour leader’s maillot jaune.
“The others tried to play with my nerves a touch bit,” Alaphilippe said, “but within the end Yates worked well. There was a robust headwind, but we couldn’t miss our chance. Winning made me feel good, I’ve missed it.”
Yates, who suffered a bout of sickness before the Tour started, had, like Alaphilippe, spoken only of seeking stage wins, but such was his climbing speed in pursuit of Alaphilippe that his team’s expectations may now be heightened. After such a performance, both riders will surely be reassessing their goals.
“I found to Alaphilippe and Hirschi then we started performing on the descent,” Yates, now second overall, said. “In the top i used to be never getting to win the sprint , those too were both faster than me , but to return third on stage two, I’m pretty proud of that. Maybe if there had been another climb, but during a sprint on this type of finish, i used to be always getting to find yourself second or third. beat all, it had been an honest day.”
The peloton left the beginning line in Nice with the bulk of riders swathed in bandages. there have been three non‑starters: Philippe Gilbert, of Belgium, his teammate and 2018 stage winner, John Degenkolb, and Rafael Valls, of Mikel Landa’s Bahrain McLaren team, all of whom were victims of crashes during Saturday’s chaotic first stage.
Others, meanwhile, including Thibaut Pinot of France, Pavel Sivakov, of the Ineos Grenadiers, and Nairo Quintana, of Colombia, were the pedalling wounded, as they did their best to dismiss the pain caused by their crashes the previous day. “It hurts everywhere ,” Pinot said before the beginning .
The day’s seven-man breakaway, including perennial green jersey wearer, Peter Sagan, established itself well before the primary main climb of the Col de la Colmiane, but with the peloton only allowing them a brief leash it had been inevitable that the group would be reeled in.
Just as that they had in Saturday’s chaotic conditions, the Jumbo-Visma team of Primoz Roglic assumed control and led the most field up subsequent ascent, first category Col de Turini, with the Ineos Grenadiers of defending Tour champion, Egan Bernal, seemingly happy to require a back seat. The pace was high enough though to shed overnight race leader and stage one winner, Alexander Kristoff, with 90km still to race.
But the stage truly came to life on the Col des Quatre Chemins, where Alaphilippe put in his decisive attack. That sudden explosion of speed provoked a degree of panic that saw Roglic’s teammate Tom Dumoulin take an unexpected tumble and Bernal’s team suddenly move to the front of the peloton.
A mass pursuit, on the descent back to Nice seafront, initiated by Bernal’s team and followed by most of the leading favourites, couldn’t prevent the French rider taking the stage win and therefore the coveted yellow jersey. Any pretence then, after last year’s swashbuckling performance, that Alaphilippe would settle merely for stage wins, instead of targeting overall victory, has already evaporated.
“I gave everything,” Alaphilippe said of his typically dramatic stage win. “I had nothing to lose. It’s something special to be in yellow within the Tour, so we’ll defend it.”
Since you’re here …Everything You Need to Know About 2020 Tour de France
Sources: The Guardian, Twitter
Hashtags: #TDF2020 #JulianAlaphilippe
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