Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) started the day just five seconds short of stage 1 winner Yves Lampaert, and his second consecutive runner-up finish was enough to put him into the race lead after finishing just behind Fabio Jakobsen in the final, chaotic sprint.
“I’m very happy to be in the yellow jersey,” said van Aert. “This is one of the most iconic things in cycling. I have been looking for it for a while, and today is finally the day for me to wear it. And I feel comfortable!”
“Crossing the finish line, at first I was disappointed I had lost to Fabio Jakobsen. It’s only seconds later that I realized that my second position meant that I was taking the yellow jersey!”
Van Aert now holds a slender one second lead in the general classification and also a very narrow advantage in the green jersey sprint standings as he heads stage winner Fabio Jakobsen by a single point. While the Belgian star is considered unlikely to be a contender for overall honours, he is the favourite for the sprint classification.
The much-hyped potential for crosswind chaos on the Great Belt Bridge didn’t eventuate, with the wind mostly directed into the riders’ faces as they pushed towards the finish in Nyborg. Van Aert was well-positioned throughout with his team leaders Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard also tucked away safely.
“A crazy stage? Well, last year’s first stage was another level of craziness,” said van Aert in response to a question about the finish. ‘There was more respect around today, probably due to circumstances.
“As a matter of fact, we were pedalling at 30kph with 5km to go due to the headwind – something quite unusual on a Tour de France sprint. Then you see how it all turned out with 2k to go."
Christophe Laporte proved his worth as the one-man leadout for van Aert, shepherding the green jersey through the final kilometres and leaving van Aert in a good position to launch the final sprint. Van Aert followed the acceleration of Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) but then ducked inside as his great momentum took him past the Dane.
Van Aert looked the likely winner, but Jakobsen flew past to claim the victory. Van Aert initially looked disappointed, but the performance was enough to put him into the overall lead and the points jersey lead, the Belgian rider claiming the yellow jersey for the first time in his career.
He will be pressed to maintain his lead over the coming stages, with Lampaert just a second behind, but if he can keep finishing up top in the sprints, then his lead will be assured until the harder climbing challenges arrive.
“I will try to keep it for as long as possible,” said van Aert. “We need to see how we tackle the next few stages. What I saw today is that my Jumbo-Visma team is super strong. We avoided crashes thanks to the work of my teammates.”
The Tour de France continues on SBS with Stage 3, a 182 kilometre route from Vejle to Sonderborg. Watch from 8.55 pm AEST on the SBS ŠKODA Tour Tracker, with SBS television and SBS On Demand coverage starting at 9.30 pm AEST.
