Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) has dominated the finale of stage 2 at the Tour de France; winning the day atop Mûr-de-Bretagne with a brilliant attack on the climb.
The Dutchman had also attacked solo on the first passage of the climb and claimed the eight second time bonuses on offer when the riders passed the finish line for the first time.
And when he won the stage on the second passage of the climb he gained time on those behind and also gained more bonus seconds for his win.
And that performance means he takes the yellow jersey from the shoulders of yesterday's stage winner Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), whom he now leads by eight seconds overall.
Van der Poel not only attacked again on the second time up the climb, he managed that after chasing down some attackers, including Nairo Quintana (Arkéa Samsic), during what was a breathtaking performance.
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He broke down after the stage as his main goal on the race was to take the yellow jersey to honour his now deceased grandfather Raymond Poulidor. He was a former top French pro who was 2nd overall in the Tour three times and 3rd overall five times but never wore yellow even for one stage.
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Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) was 2nd today - and looks very strong indeed - just ahead of Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and Wilco Kelderman (Bora-hansgrohe). Those three came home six seconds behind Van der Poel.
There was then a gap of two more seconds to a much larger group, which was led home by outgoing yellow jersey Alaphilippe and contained most of the big favourites.
However, Geraint Thomas was not in that group; the Ineos Grenadiers man being distanced and losing 15 seconds to the main favourites and more to the top four on the stage today. He lost 21 seconds to Van der Poel and 17 to Pogačar, Roglič and Kelderman.
Ineos Grenadiers led onto the final passage of the climb with 2km to go, with Richie Porte taking it up with Thomas in his wheel. However, by stage end only Richard Carapaz was in the main the yellow jersey group for the team, a very bad early sign for the British WorldTour squad.
Lots more to come.
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