Key events
Jonas Vingegaard keeps his yellow jersey. Well, he did not lose any time to Pogacar (aside from bonus seconds). I think that’s a good outcome for the Dane, who we know to be less explosive and less suited to a punchy stage like this.
Mexican champion Isaac del Toro stands on the podium in Barcelona, a smile on his face. I reckon we will see that Del Toro-Pogacar fearsome duo teaming up for a win a few more times during this Tour.
Thoughts on that stage? Feel free to message me here with your hot takes and reactions.
This is Mexico’s second Tour de France stage in their history. English football fans may be wondering whether this is some kind of bad omen…
As for contenders, Ayuso, Seixas and Pidcock all finished three seconds down. However, Florian Lipowitz (third last year) could not stay with the select group of contenders just behind and lost a few more seconds. He is already half a minute behind Red Bull co-leader Remco Evenepoel before a sight of the high mountains.
Stage two results and GC standings
A consummate team performance from Pogacar and company, quite a riposte to the Visma show yesterday. McNulty and Yates set the pace, Pogacar chose not to win so his young teammate could have that joy. Even more impressive after the Mexican’s bike change palaver with 60km to go.
1. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3 hours 40 minutes 1 second
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike)
5. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) at 3 seconds
6. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility)
General classification after stage two
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) 4 hours 1 minute 48 seconds
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at 6 seconds
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at 15 secs
4. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at 16 secs
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) at 19 secs
6. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) at 42 secs
***
10 Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) at 1min
Isaac del Toro’s post-race reaction:
It means really everything. I said before I’m a very privileged guy, you can’t believe how much we work to be here: this is the work of everybody, my family, my friends growing up. I cannot believe I just did it, it’s just insane. Also toappreciate being in the same team as Tadej, the best in the world, it’s really fully emotions.
I was not able to be in the top position [off the last climb] but I was able to pass and try and bring back Skjelmose. We made a plan for Tadej, I did it but then the gap was bigger and I just went with the flow to the finish line.
[Interviewer: Who cares about the football World Cup? They have Del Toro] Of course we have this 11 guys ripping it in the football, they are doing amazing and to be at the same level here in France at the hardest race is like a dream.
How’s this for a bromance? Pogacar lifts up Del Toro in the air with joy after their team one-two. The 22-year-old nearly rode into the barrier 200 metres from the finish too while looking round. There was more talk about Seixas pre-race, but this debutant is supremely-talented too.
Third place for Remco Evenepoel and fourth for Vingegaard, on the same time. Vingegaard keeps the yellow jersey, but Pogacar is now second, six seconds behind.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) wins stage two!
The Mexican debutant has won. He went all-out from the bottom. His team captain Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were in close quarters, tracking his move.
Pogacar looked strong: he seemed to draw almost level with Del Toro, looked behind and noticed his rivals were a few lengths back, then made sure he did not pass him to ensure Del Toro could win.
They crossed the line, with Pogacar slapping him on the back and Del Toro’s mouth open in shock like an emoji.
1km to go. Lidl-Trek rider Mattias Skjelmose has a few lengths on a solo attack, but Isaac del Toro brings it to heel for Pogacar.
Del Toro attacks onto the climb, with Vingegaard and Pogacar on his wheel!
2km to go. Tobias Halland Johannessen attacks over the last stretches of the climb, Carapaz, Pogacar, Vingegaard, Seixas, Evenepoel and Ayuso all follow.
All the helpers are gone, giving a chance for an attack on the 80km/h descent. It looks like it will be a sprint between the 15-odd GC contenders and hardy puncheurs up the 800-metre incline to the finish.
3km to go. Britain’s Adam Yates hits the front with Pogacar behind him. Del Toro in third wheel has the wherewithal to spray himself with water. Maybe the Mexican could take victory today.
Van der Poel is dropped. Just 15 or so riders in contention up the 14% gradients of the last 400 metres of this climb.
4km to go. They are on the last categorised climb up Montjuïc Castle. Decathlon rider Tiesj Benoot takes up the pacing for Seixas but his leader is ten riders back. He looks around to see where the teenager is.
Pogacar is poised on his wheel.
5km to go. Last slugs of energy drink and water from bottles before disposing of any necessary weight. McNulty finally drops off the front and two Uno-X Mobility riders take up the slack. The fight for positioning onto the right-turn onto the climb begins.
7km to go. American McNulty continues his stellar one-man effort on the front, with compatriot Matteo Jorgenson on his wheel.. The tension is building.
They will be at the foot of the last climb up Montjuïc, where I am expecting a venomous attack from Pogacar. Whether Vingegaard, Evenepoel et al can follow will be a decent measure of form and explosivity.
10km to go. The bell rings – sounded by Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni – as they cross the finish line. One more lap. McNulty still leads, with UAE teammates Yates and Del Toro waiting in the wings, if needed.
Jorgenson follows McNulty, with yellow jersey Vingegaard. All the best are here: Pogacar, Evenepoel, Seixas, Lipowitz, Ayuso, Van der Poel and Pidcock are following closely. It will come down to the last time up Montjuïc then up the shorter, less-sharp drag to the Olympic Stadium and the finish line.
14km to go. Brandon McNulty, who sounds like he should be gunslinging in a Western, has not done the Tour since 2022, but he has proved worth his weight in gold for Pogacar today, setting a tough pace all the way up the climb. They ride through a haze of yellow flair smoke, no thanks for that. No attacks yet…
Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Q36.5-Pinarelllo) is in third wheel, right in the mix. He has the punch and power to trouble Pogacar today; he nearly outsprinted him at Milan-Sanremo, after all.
16km to go. Kévin Vauquelin is chasing hard as the 30-strong bunch hits the Côte du Château du Montjuïc. Everyone is watching and waiting Pogacar, everyone knows he is the strongest. We will see whether they can do anything about it.
20km to go. Britain’s Adam Yates takes over the pace-setting. This is going to be an attritional finale. Will Tadej Pogacar launch an attack on the penultimate climb up Montjuïc or wait for the last few kilometres?
Ben Healy and Julian Alaphilippe were among those dropped on the first ascent. And now Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ United) is out of the lead group, stopped with a Colombian or Ecuadorian flag caught in his cassette! That must have come from a fan, inadvertently. The bearded Frenchman is rightly furious.
24km to go. First time of three up the Côte du Château du Montjuïc-Olympic stadium climb combo. Jonas Vingegaard is paced into third wheel by teammate Victor Campenaerts. It is thronged with crowds, with cowbells and cheers audible.
Brandon McNulty sets a fierce pace for Pogacar on the front, tucked behind him. The peloton has been whittled down to 30 or so riders on the 14% gradients. Evenepoel, Lipowitz, Ayuso and Seixas are near the front as they cross the finish line.
Two more laps to go.
The breakaway is caught
30km to go. Nearly a bad crash as the Tour director car slams on the brakes for a TotalEnergies car stopped in a pinch point, servicing a rider, and a few competitors returning to the bunch squeeze past between barrier and vehicle. Phew…
Paul Seixas gets back to the bunch after a few kilometres chasing. Far from ideal for the debutant, a bit of mental and physical energy spent. The break have been caught and the peloton is haring towards the first of three climbs of Montjuïc past the Olympic Stadium.
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35km to go. Just 15 seconds’ lead for the escape. Down the road, there has been a spate of punctures on the run-in to the city, very odd. Flats for Paul Seixas and Decathlon teammate Olav Kooij, Quinn Simmons and a few other riders.
Seixas swops bikes with Aurelien Paret-Peintre for a few kilometres before getting onto his spare one. Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s pre-Tour read about the teenage sensation:
40km to go. The break and bunch will be entering Barcelona in the next 10 minutes. Then we have the focal point of this stage, the circuit around Montjuïc. They will go up and down the 1.6km, 8.8% hill twice before sprinting to the finish there.
Nerves will be high. A puncture in the last 20km would be a right pain, as would a crash. With a rapid descent, it will be hard to close any gaps made by a strong, attacking rider. I expect UAE Team Emirates-XRG to set a tough pace on the first climb before unleashing Pogacar – or Del Toro.
49km to go. Well, Del Toro made light work of that deficit and is back in the bunch. Looks like his second, lightweight bike was on the second team car, not the first one, forcing him to wait at the side of the road for a minute after some kind of problem with his bike. A bit of miscommunication about what bike he needed or wanted.
A little lull in the bunch. Molenaar and Engelhardt are 47 seconds up.
60km to go. We are approaching the lumpy part of this stage. Van den Broeck has dropped back, leaving Molenaar and Engelhardt to solider on. Their lead is 30 seconds, their days in front are numbered.
A mechanical issue for Isaac del Toro, who needs a bike change. He is two minutes behind the bunch, that is a lot of time to make up in the team car cavalcade – and a lot of risks to take round blind corners. Why did it take so long?
Wildfires put stage three at risk of cancellation
Jeremy Whittle
The third stage of the Tour de France to Les Angles is at risk of cancellation as wildfires rage in the French Pyrenees, closing roads and forcing the evacuation of the local population.
On Sunday afternoon, wild fires continued to burn on the stage three evacuation route from Les Angles, near Trevillach in the French Pyrenees.
The Tour convoy, included most team buses, is scheduled to use this road after the finish of the first mountain stage.
Nearly 600 French firefighters have been mobilised to contain the wildfire, about 36km from Perpignan.
Le Monde also reported that roads in the region have been closed and emergency shelters opened for those forced to flee their homes.
72km to go. Now I can say it really is the Tour de France as a man wearing a banana costume runs alongside the breakaway. Alex Molenaar outsprints Engelhardt and Van den Broeck for the King of the Mountains points. He could be pulling on polka-dots this evening.
In oppressive heat – 38 degrees, according to pundit Jens Voigt – the escape’s lead has melted away to 25 seconds as UAE Team Emirates-XRG inject a little more pace in the chase.
AFP’s recent report on the fires which could lead to the cancellation of tomorrow’s third stage:
Forest fires ravaging a region in southern France are threatening a stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with a decision to be taken later in the day over whether the stage goes ahead, a top local official said Sunday.
The decision over the running of stage three of the race will be taken “by the end of the day” after being discussed in the afternoon, said Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, the prefect – the top Paris-appointed official – of the Eastern Pyrenees department.
The fire currently burning in the area has already swept across approximately 1,500 hectares of land and required the mobilisation of some 700 firefighters.
It is located about 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) from Les Angles, where riders late Monday afternoon are due to finish the third stage of the event which is set to start in Granollers in Spain.
The prefect has also ordered the closure of the main road that provides access – notably from the coast – to the route of Monday’s stage due to the fire.
“The fire has flared up again – all resources are being mobilised to contain it,” added Regnault de la Mothe.
79km to go. Well, well, well, the break sprinted it out in Viladecans rather than rolling through, Molenaar pipping Engelhardt. Both have a decent turn of speed and I expect a similar close battle for KOM points imminently. They have started climbing the second-category Côte des Begues, 6.1km at 6.5%.
In the bunch behind, haring down the right side of the road, Biniam Girmay takes 14 points for fourth ahead of Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen.
86km to go. We are coming up to the first intermediate sprint of the Tour de France in Viladecans. The three breakaway riders, who lead the peloton by 2mins 33 secs, will hoover up 25, 20 and 16 points, but the sprinters behind can start their bid for the green jersey.
Prediction: incumbent Egan Bernal will not be going for this one.
Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard has been talking to the TNT Sports cameras – with a face mask on. Not taking any risks.
I hear there is already some sickness in the bunch. As I‘ve been sick in the last two Tours de France, I want to stay healthy. It’s more a precaution from my side, I don’t have anything at all. Also, there’s a lot more people, spectators, journalists, a lot more things that can go around. I just want to stay a lot more safe than in the last grand tours.
On wearing yellow and stage two’s finale:
It’s an amazing feeling for me, I’ve had a lot of downs especially in the last three years. I feel this year I’ve had more ups so I’m extremely happy to be in the yellow jersey. I think I will try to enjoy every day in it a bit more [than I did in the the past].
It’s going to be a very tough climb, a very tough final so we have to be ready for anything.
98km to go. Of course, it is not Frank van den Broeck’s first rodeo. He went up the road in an enterprising escape with teammate Romain Bardet on day one of the 2024 Tour into Rimini. Against the odds, they held off the bunch.
Yellow jersey for the veteran Frenchman, a coup for one of the WorldTour squads with the lowest budgets.
Van den Broeck is also not to be confused as a Pro Evo-esque regen of troubled 1990s cycling star Frank Vandenbroucke, whose (shameless plug alert) biography I wrote.
All those poor trees. Worrying news ahead of tomorrow’s third stage too, finishing uphill at Les Angles, 1,794 metres above sea level. Let’s see how things play out.
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107km to go. Molenaar, Van den Broeck and Engelhardt lead the bunch by 3 minutes 21secs, but they have had to work very hard for it. 50.9 kilometres covered in the first hour.
The leaders will have their eyes on the Côte des Begues, the second-category climb which comes with 75km to race. Win the King of the Mountains sprint there and one of them will likely come away with the polka-dot jersey for tomorrow and a lot of publicity for his team.
Added motivation for Molenaar: he might be of Dutch nationality, but his mother is Catalan and he grew up in Olot, close to Barcelona, from the age of ten.
Robin Lynch writes in:
Looking forward to the finish today, think it will be a cracker and would have been great to see Van Aert, Van Der Poel and Pogacar go together.
Do you think Van Aert’s absence will be a potential hidden benefit for Vingegaard as the team are now completely focused on one objective? As a Visma, Vingo and Van Aert fan, I am trying to see the positives here.
Good question, Robin. I think there is no replacing Van Aert as a super-domestique. He has the versatility and strength of two men. But it is fair to say, when going for his own stage wins in recent years, he was not always or even often at hand to serve Vingegaard selflessly. I still think they will miss him in the mountains though – in 2022 and 2023, he has been integral to plans which saw the Dane crack Pogacar. Overall, a net disadvantage not a benefit.
136km to go. The average speed has been a swift 48 kilometres per hour so far. As the three-man breakaway hits the Mediterranean coastline and heads towards the town of Cunit (oof, better spell that one correctly), I am going to nip out for a spot of lunch.
Feel free to drop me an email with Tour (or non-Tour) musings, something to look forward to for when I get back.
Of course, it is a whopping sporting weekend. Mexico and England play at the Azteca in 12 or so hours’ time, kudos to those who manage to stay up. Norway versus France comes first, I fancy Haaland and his countrymen to spring a surprise. Taha Hashim has all the World Cup build-up:
If tennis is more your thing, Sarah Rendell is serving up all the news from Wimbledon:
Three-man escape goes up the road
141km to go. After initial resistance from the peloton, a breakaway has established itself. The three leaders are Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Frank van den Broeck (Picnic PostNL) and German champion Felix Engelhardt (Jayco Alula).
Lotto Intermarché rider Baptiste Veistroffer is briefly stuck in no man’s land as the bunch slows for a “nature break” (pee stop). They are 3mins 20secs behind the frontmen.
150km to go. A fair old cross-tailwind whipping off the eye-pleasing Costa Daurada. At the back of the fast-moving pack, front wheel change for Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos), who had a puncture and lost time yesterday.
No ITV coverage this year, by the way. No memorable theme tune, no Gary Imlach in his Fred Perry polo shirt with considered words, no Millar and Boulting providing dynamite comms insight. Feels weird and surely the sport will lose some casual viewers/future champions who were able to use it as a gateway. I know I did as a kid.
158km to go. First crash of the Tour, involving about eight riders, right at the front of the bunch. Perhaps a touch of wheels. Dorian Godon (Netcompany Ineos) and former green jersey winner Biniam Girmay (NSN) is involved, though all are back and up on their bike. The Eritrean gives a thumbs up to the camera, no harm done.
164km to go. Several riders giving it beans, making early breakaway bids. Get up the road in the escape that sticks and you’ve a good chance of leading the King of the Mountains classification, given the early second-category climb.
Fun fact for you, this is the first time ever that three former Tour winners have worn the three flagship jerseys: Vingegaard in yellow, Pogacar in polka-dots, Egan Bernal in green. (By dint of being fastest through the 5km time check yesterday, even though he ended up losing almost three minutes…)
Stage two rolls out of Tarragona
168.5km to go. The riders get going on the départ fictif, the short stretch of neutralised kilometres they do at leisurely-ish pace daily to get of town centres before race general director Christian Prudhomme drops the flag to signify the start of the race proper.
I think it’s worth answering the obvious question: why is the Tour de France starting in Spain?
Well, the organisers can charge a larger fee for foreign grand départs, the quid pro quo being a boost for tourism and the local economy. I’m not sure Barcelona needs the exposure or visitors – residents are not so happy about that, but anyway…
At least Barcelona is conveniently close to the French border. The same cannot be said for Edinburgh, hosting the 2027 Tour start, but I am sure they will put on a great show.
That also means, oddly, that cycling’s most prestigious race will only have gotten underway in its home nation twice in seven years.
While yesterday’s TTT was predominantly a team effort, it was interesting to see who went up the last climb to Montjuïc fastest once shorn of helpers.
Hardly something to make headlines or draw too much from, but confirms that Pogacar is the man to beat today. Five seconds quicker than Vingegaard too, blimey…
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The 2026 Tour de France has its first abandon. Groupama-FDJ United rider Clément Berthet crashed with teammate Guillaume Martin and he will be a DNS today.
His race lasted 19.4 kilometres. Rotten luck for the Frenchman. At least his squad acquitted themselves well, finishing eighth.
Jonas Vingegaard can be rather understated in character, but the performance yesterday visibly meant a lot to the Dane. A consummate team performance has got the 2022 and 2023 winner off to a flyer.
Relive Visma-Lease a Bike’s TTT victory with Jeremy Whittle’s report.
Preamble
¡Hola! The Tour gets moving today and the finale will be a lively one. Stage two should will be Jekyll and Hyde: comparative pootling along the Mediterranean for the bunch for two hours before several short hills in the final couple of hours, namely the sharp ascent up Montjuïc (1.6km at 9.3%) three times in the last 25 kilometres, finishing at the Olympic Stadium like yesterday.
Pain in Spain guaranteed. Wearing the King of the Mountains jersey, Tadej Pogacar will surely be looking to strike back after his main rival Jonas Vingegaard’s “perfect start” yesterday, emerging in the yellow jersey after Visma-Lease a Bike’s TTT victory.
This is one for puncheurs who can keep up with Pogacar’s expected explosive attacks (easier said than done). Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) will fancy his chances and this also has Tom Pidcock written all over it. You can bet Vingegaard will be adhered to his long-time adversary’s wheel like a yellow Post-It note too.
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I expect a small group sprint of several champions, but it could alternatively be a larger, still-select group sprint of hardy hitters who can keep up over the hills. The likes of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) have a faint chance, but fast finishers will do well to stay in contention under likely heavy artillery from the defending champion or other contenders.
Temperatures approaching 35 degrees Celsius will not deter big crowds in and around Barcelona and on the fan-packed final hill. There will be agitation as well as perspiration for the peloton. Nerves are always Galibier-high for competitors on the first road stage of the Tour.
There were a few fallers in yesterday’s team time trial (the most painful way to start the race) and there will probably be a crash or three from inattention, but hopefully no Opi-Omi omnishambles relating to fans intruding in the road.
Grab some snacks (maybe some Spanish or Catalan ones if you are feeling fancy/want to be particularly Tour-adjacent) and settle in for the ride. Stage two roll-out is 12:45pm BST, expected finish time is 4:36pm.
Who will win today? Which competitors have already impressed or depressed you? Anyone there on the streets of Barcelona? Drop me thoughts, witterings and Tour hopes here or on andy.mcgrath.casual@theguardian.co.uk.
