Despite victory going to Victor Lafay, marking Cofidis' first Tour de France win in 15 years, it was another positive day for UAE Team Emirates on Stage 2 of the Tour de France in the Basque country.
Briton Adam Yates retained his yellow jersey as Tour de France leader, while their Slovenian star, Tadej Pogačar, took time over his GC rivals with bonus seconds at both opportunities, moving up into second place.
But despite those two leaders making the biggest metaphorical splash – prior to Pogačar's literal splash in the ice bath that awaited him at the finish line – the team's "invisible" riders shined just as brightly.
Once the breakaway had been established following an eight-kilometre long fight, Mikkel Bjerg and Vegard Stake Laengen controlled almost the entire remaining 200km between them. Then, Rafał Majka set a vicious pace on the Jaizkibel that whittled down the lead group.
"It was a really hectic day, a lot of stress in the bunch, wet roads, and a lot of road furniture but we made it through," Yates explained in his post-race press conference.
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"We had a little bit of bad luck with Matteo [Trentin] crashing in the corner. We controlled all day, nobody wanted to help us, but in the end, we set up Tadej for the bonus seconds, and in the final, I think we did a good job."
His Sport Manager Matxin Fernandez told press at the finish line that Bjerg and Vegard did "amazing jobs," adding that the domestique role is the "speciality for both riders. It's really important for us. Many times it's invisible work, but it's really important for the team and the teammates."
Having the two-pronged leadership at the Tour de France and such strength in numbers is a situation typically associated with UAE Team Emirates' rivals Jumbo-Visma, but with Yates in yellow and Pogačar already putting Vingegaard on the back foot, the pressure will be on the UAE riders to control the remainder of the race.
After being criticized for weak support of Pogačar in the 2021 Tour de France and being out-matched by Jumbo-Visma last year, UAE Team Emirates seem to be far more equal to the Dutch team this season. Still, Pogačar had to express his confidence in the team's strength in the week before the race.
In only the second stage, the signs that the Slovenian was correct are apparent. At separate points during stage 2, both Laengen and Bjerg appeared too eager in their roles. At around 80km to go, Bjerg was seen in ongoing discussions with road captain Matteo Trentin, who was seemingly trying to tell the Dane to ease up. At a later point, with around 50km to go, Laengen was seen looking back laughing, having dropped his teammates after pushing too hard.
"He did two or three turns a little bit fast, maybe taking some risks," explained the Team Principal Mauro Gianetti when asked about Bjerg. "So we said slow down, we don't need to take risks in the corners."
Despite these small moments of inattention, UAE Team Emirates come away from the race with confidence in a job well done.
"I think after yesterday, it was quite clear what we had to do, defend the jersey and take some more seconds," explained Pogačar. "It's the perfect situation. Minus the Trentin crash, that was a bit unfortunate and I hope he's OK. But I think it was quite successful today."
Despite the current situation with Yates in yellow, both the Briton's words and actions reaffirmed that he remains second in command behind Pogačar. Near the summit of the Jaizkibel, Yates was seen driving the pace with Pogačar on his wheel, evidently setting up his teammate to fight for the bonus seconds at the top.
"We did a good job, I think he took the maximum [bonus]. Then in the final, it's a bit difficult for me to do a lead out when it's pan flat… I kind of just get in the way more than anything, so I just stayed behind him and blocked the other guys sitting on his wheel."
Looking forward to the next days, as the race enters France with a duo of sprint stages into Bayonne on Monday and Nogaro on Tuesday, the Slovenian is looking forward to an easier couple of days, saying the team will "take it a bit more easy in the next couple days."
Gianetti is also looking forward to other teams taking up the reins to reel in the breakaway, adding: "There are not so many opportunities for the sprinters and we have a lot of sprinters in the peloton, so tomorrow, they will probably be there in the finishing point of the race."
Yates, however, is more cagey. "Tomorrow's a little easier on paper, but you never know with the Tour de France. Every day is super hard, super technical, it's not just easy to go to the finish and keep yellow. We'll see what happens."
