France’s Kevin Vauquelin has won stage two of the Tour de France, while Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar took the yellow jersey.
After splitting from the lead group, Vauquelin won his maiden Grand Tour stage riding for Arkea-B&B Hotels. Riding for UAE Team Emirates, Pogacar overtook his chief challenger and previous year's victor, Jonas Vingegaard, when he surged ahead on the last climb of the 199.2km stage to Bologna, Italy.
Pogacar and Vingegaard, who rides for Team Visma-Lease a Bike, crossed the finish line together, but Pogacar's better stage result earned him the yellow jersey.
Asked if he wanted to go for the stage win, Pogacar said: "No, because the breakaway was too hard and in this weather, this heat, it would be unnecessary to kill my teammates. We just left it to natural selection and it was like this in the end. For sure to have gone for the stage win could have also backfired so we decided to be more calm and tranquil, but in the final I tried to test myself."
Pogacar and Vingegaard, who have combined to win the last four La Grande Boucle races, had the same overall time as Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz and Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel.
Perhaps the most unfortunate rider of the day was Primoz Roglic, who crossed the finish line in a 19-man group of general classification contenders and was 21 seconds behind Pogacar and Vingegaard.
The race goes 230.8km today, Monday, July 1, from Plaisance to Turin, and it should end in a sprint finish, giving British rider Mark Cavendish the chance to win a record 35 stage victories at the Tour.
Here is all you need to know about the rest of the 2024 Tour de France.
When is the Tour de France 2024?
The Tour began with a hilly stage from Florence to Rimini in Italy on Saturday, June 29.
Riders will race for 21 days and have two rest days, culminating in a time trial in Nice on Sunday, July 21.
What is the route for the Tour?
After the four days in Italy, the Tour will cross the border to Valloire France on Tuesday, July 2 — the first high mountain stage.
It is the first time the race has had its Grand Depart in Italy. In another first, the riders will cross into San Marino on an early stage.
The Tour will finish outside Paris for the first time as the French capital is preparing to host the Olympic Games and the Paralympics this summer.
The final stage in Nice will be a time trial, meaning the general classification order will go down to the last day.
While usually the last day is something of a ceremony before a sprint, in 2024 it will be the second of two long time trials.
The tough route will take in summit finishes in the French Alps, featured earlier than usual, Massif Central and the Pyrenees. Stage nine will also feature 32 kilometres (20 miles) of gravel roads.
The severity of the stages and lack of flat finishes is bad news for sprinters including Britain's Mark Cavendish — who is seeking a record-breaking 35th Tour stage win.
Eight stages identified as ‘flat’ could give sprinters such as Cavendish reasons to hope — but only if they can stay in the race over the mountains and make time cuts.
The Manx rider told the Guardian: “There’s a few [sprint stages] but you’ve got to get to them — that’s the problem.
“It’s so hard. I’m in a bit of shock, actually.”
How can I watch the Tour de France?
ITV 4 and ITV X will be showing the Tour de France live from June 29 to July 21 with highlights shows every evening — usually at 7pm.
In previous years, the shows have been presented by Gary Imlach with input and commentary from David Millar and Ned Boulting.
Who are the bookmakers’ favourites for the 2024 Tour de France?
Bookmakers are in an unusual position and taking bets on a race scenario with and without defending champion Jonas Vingegaard taking part.
Oddschecker does not have the option of betting on the Dane winning the yellow jersey.
However, the odds of other contenders do shorten if he does not make the start line.
The full list of riders will be confirmed nearer the start of the race.
These are the Oddschecker odds as of May 30.
Tadej Pogacar: Odds to win with Vingegaard in race (4/11) without Vingegaard (1/2)
The Slovenian is in red-hot form and could add to his two yellow jerseys.
Primož Roglič: Both with and without Vingegaard (9/2)
Another Slovenian who has won the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana in the past but never the Tour de France, despite coming second in 2020.
Remco Evenepoel: With and without Vingegaard (10/1)
The Belgian has previously won the Giro and is an all-rounder.
Juan Ayuso: With and without Vingegaard (16/1)
The Spanish youngster is a teammate of Pogacar at UAE Team Emirates and could step up should misfortune strike the Slovenian but is otherwise on domestique duty.
