Following Visma-Lease a Bike's crosswind attack on stage 1 of the Tour de France, which saw Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) gain time on their rivals, more GC action is expected on stage 2 to Boulogne-sur-Mer, with more time gaps and losses possible.
The final 30km includes three short but steep categorised climbs and an uphill kick to the finish, making it a puncheur's dream. The way the Tour is raced in modern times could also bring both Vingegaard and Pogačar to the fore as they fight for every second.
Pogačar's team weren't perfect on the opener but Tim Wellens' company was enough to see the world champion safely through to the line in Lille. Visma-Lease a Bike hit out first on stage 1, so a riposte from the Slovenian can surely be expected soon and his team aren't ruling it out.
"Stage 2 is more for the puncheur. It's a five-minute maximum effort," UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports manager Joxean Fernández Matxin told Cyclingnews after stage 1.
"It's a day for Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Julian Alaphilippe, Marc Hirshi (Tudor), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)... And of course Tadej."
Van der Poel should certainly be up there with but Van Aert may be on duty to help and protect Vingegaard should Pogačar attempt to blast away on the steep pinches.
At last season's Tour, Pogačar took four days to add a stage victory to his haul, with 17 now to his name at just 26. His first win of the 2025 Tour could come as early as stage 2, with gradients above 10% in the final offering up enough road for him to make the difference.
Visma-Lease a Bike will be attentive, knowing that they may have poked the bear in the crosswinds on day 1, but Vingegaard's power in the echelons and love for racing should keep them in good standing to compete nonetheless.
"Stage 2 is certainly a hard one, and it's somewhere in between for the puncheur and the GC guys," Head of Racing Grischa Niermann told Cyclingnews on Saturday afternoon.
"It will also be tricky, maybe with some rain, a lot of wind, and different temperatures than we had the last days and weeks. It's going to be exciting."
Are Visma-Lease a Bike specifically expecting the rainbow jersey to burst into life?
"Possibly, we'll see," Niermann said, with the rivalry between the two super teams threatening to bubble over as their superstars eye a fourth or third yellow jersey, respectively.
"The rivalry makes both teams better, because we have to be at our absolute best to fight UAE, and I think it's also the other way round," added Niermann.
"Especially after his defeat in 2023, Pogačar and also the whole team made big steps, and they have a super, super strong squad. We are up there to fight against them."
As was the case on stage 1, for those trying to stay in contention, it's about following the Dane and Slovenian that can breed ultimate success.
GC outsiders will fear the rapid run to the final few climbs, but time gaps, albeit small ones, are expected.
"I personally think we'll be talking about small time losses. But not much time is also significant," Ineos Grenadiers DS Zak Dempster told Cyclingnews and Cycling Weekly before stage 1.
"I would imagine that just the stress of those guys trying to stay safe will create some sort of split, and someone will fall off GC or lose time."
The British team will be looking at home champion Sam Watson or former U23 world champion Axel Laurance to ramp things up on the punchy final, with their GC leader Carlos Rodríguez also looking to not lose more time, after missing Saturday's front echelon and losing 39 seconds.
"Sam Watson has won on similar climbs before. That final depends on how that battle plays out with the rain, too. There's rain forecast, which will create even more stress," added Dempster.
"Both Axel and Sam, they're capable of a good result, but at the same time, you've got Van der Poel here and Pogačar, maybe they're the better guys on paper, but you never know how it could play out."
With several of the big favourites like Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) losing time to inattentiveness when Visma lit things up, the fight for the bottom of the final climbs on stage 2 should bring more chaos, and with it, the very biggest riders into action.
Evenepoel will certainly want to strike back, while the climbs will further reveal Roglič's true GC chances.
Having made it into the front group as Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sprinted to the win, should one of Pogačar or Vingegaard win the stage, the yellow jersey could also be on the line.
Stage 2 will be another high-stakes GC day at the Tour de France.
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