2023-07-02 17:51:45
Opportunistic and clever, the Frenchman Victor Lafay (27) won ahead of two of the biggest stars in the peloton, the Belgian Wout Van Aert and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar who, despite all their efforts, failed to catch up with him after his attack under the red flame of the last kilometer. Van Aert, favorite for victory with his sprint quality, slammed his handlebars in rage after crossing the finish line.
“I believed in it until the end, it’s crazy! Yesterday (Saturday) I was a bit frustrated at the finish. To achieve today from the second stage is a sick thing”declared to the microphone of France the Lyonnais rider, him who brings the first victory in the Tour de France to his Cofidis team since Sylvain Chavanel in 2008.
Already winner of the Giro d’Italia
The day before, Lafay had already made a very strong impression by switching to the lead with Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the two big favorites of the Tour, in the Pike coast, before finishing sixth in the stage in Bilbao. On Sunday, he did it again to do “the kilometer trick” and get out of a group of around twenty riders in which the main favorites for the general classification remained.
“I was a little worse than yesterday, plus I had a side stitch in the middle of the stage, but I really hung on”said the Habs with a goatee, already winner of a stage on the Giro in 2021.
A Vingegaard-Pogacar explanation in Jaizkibel
A few minutes earlier, Pogacar and Vingegaard explained themselves in the Jaizkibel, a mythical climb in the Basque Country, crowded with people. Fighting over the bonuses at the top, the two men created a huge gap in a few meters with what remained of the group of favorites.
At the top, shrouded in fog, Pogacar used his superior punch to scrape eight seconds of bonuses past Vingegaard, who took five. With 16 km still to go until the finish, Pogacar led the descent ahead of his rival, who did not take over.
The two men did not insist and were quickly taken over by the group from which Lafay would emerge to win the best victory of his career.
► The classification of the 2nd stage Vitoria-Gasteiz – San Sebastian, Sunday July 2
1. Victor Lafay (FRA/Cofidis) the 208.9 km in 4 h 46’39” (average: 43.8 km/h)
2. Wout van Aert (BEL/Jumbo-Visma) mt
3. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE Team Emirates) mt
4. Thomas Pidcock (GBR/Ineos Grenadiers) mt
5. Pello Bilbao (ESP/Bahrain Victorious) mt
6. Mattias Skjelmose (DAN/Lidl – Trek) mt
7. Michael Woods (CAN/Israel – Premier Tech) mt
8. Romain Bardet (FRA/Team DSM Firmenich) mt
9. Dylan Teuns (BEL/Israel – Premier Tech) mt
10. Jai Hindley (AUS/Bora – Hansgrohe) mt
…
► General classification after the 2nd stage
1. Adam Yates (GBR/UAE Team Emirates)
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE Team Emirates) at 6”
3. Simon Yates (GBR/Team Jayco Alula)
4. Victor Lafay (FRA/Cofidis) at 12”
5. Wout van Aert (BEL/Jumbo-Visma) at 16″
6. Jonas Vingegaard (DAN/Jumbo-Visma) à 17”
7. Michael Woods (CAN/Israel – Premier Tech) at 22”
8. Mattias Skjelmose (DAN/Lidl – Trek) à 22”
9. Jai Hindley (AUS/Bora – Hansgrohe) at 22”
10. Mikel Landa (ESP/Bahrain Victorious) at 22”
…
► Monday July 3: the profile of the 3rd stage
The profile of the 3rd stage of the Tour de France 2023, Amorebieta-Etxano – Bayonne (193.5km), scheduled for Monday July 3.
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