DISCUSSION Tour de France Stage 2 | Mathieu van der Poel at his best? Milan angry at Girmay? Is Vingegaard in career best shape?

The Tour de France 2025 is living up to the billing so far isn’t it? And today, in Northern France, Mathieu van der Poel finally picked up a second Tour de France stage. The Dutch rider narrowly beat Tadej Pogacar in an uphill sprint to seal the result, in another epic battle between the two.

Things ignited again on the Côte du Haut Pichot, where Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard ramped up the pace. UAE's Tim Wellens and Pogacar then took over, creating a serious split. Inside the final 10km, attacks flew from all angles, and Van der Poel launched the first major move.

Matteo Jorgenson countered, and by then the elite group was clear. Riders like Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel were present, but yellow jersey holder Jasper Philipsen and Primoz Roglic were not, although Roglic did eventually make it back on.

Kevin Vauquelin and Jorgenson made another move near the summit with 6km to go, while Vingegaard launched an attack on the descent, quickly shut down by Pogacar and Evenepoel. A series of aggressive accelerations led into the finale, where Julian Alaphilippe struck first but couldn’t hold it, and Van der Poel surged past and held off Pogacar at the line for a decisive win.

So what did your writer’s think of the stage?

Another crazy classic stage of the first week of the Tour de France. Mathieu van der Poel, who had stated in the past that he didn't like this race, seems to be getting the hang of it.Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are already tucked into the provisional podium, seconds ahead of all their main rivals for the final overall classification.

On the Spanish side, very proud of Enric Mas, who is one of the few who can keep up with the two Inhumans, but very disappointed with Carlos Rodriguez, who has lost time in both stages. Tomorrow should again be a fight between the main sprinters of the race and Van der Poel will normally hold the yellow jersey until the time trial, where we will have a first real test for the contenders for the final victory.

A nice day to watch the Tour. It was a stage that was always likely to end in a sprint, but this was between the best of the best. I mean how often can you see a sprint between Van der Poel, Pogacar and Vingegaard? And it being that close?

It was pouring rain at the start which added to the tension, and then the wind did it too... And then the positioning to the climbs... The climbs were all ridden very hard which left a good taste to the stage, there were no "what ifs".I think Kevin Vauquelin had a great idea of attacking over and over again in the finale but often chose the wrong moments (climbing, where he could easily be matched)... Matteo Jorgenson attacked but then did not commit, which I do not understand specially as Vingegaard was behind and it made full sense for him to go all-out and take the risk.

UAE was very strong and controlled the finale properly for Tadej Pogacar, and he would've won if we didn't have a peak form Van der Poel at the start. In such a finale it is almost impossible to beat him, and it was a deserved win.Talking to Vingegaard in the bus area, I heard Jorgenson cast a funny remark to Vingegaard: "I said at the press conference you're now a 'big guy' (referring to his weight gain), you had to show it".

Vingegaard attacked today outside the climbs and tried to surprise. He is attacking now instead of Pogacar. It does show the Dane's improvement on the flat terrain, shows why he attacked at the Dauphiné in similar fashion, but above all shows that Visma know they have to try and gain time on Pogacar outside the mountains and not go into a head-to-head. So far they haven't gained time, but attacked both stages and would've made the difference to just about anyone else.

Second stage, a second win for Alpecin – Deceuninck, and a second victory in the Tour de France for Mathieu van der Poel, today was all about the numbers. On the day Pogacar had the chance to claim the 100th win of his professional career, it was the Dutchman who proved untouchable. Van der Poel launched a decisive move and left no room for doubt: Alpecin is the strongest team at the start of this race.It is not surprising, though, considering the squad that Alpecin has brought to this year’s Tour de France.

Mathieu van der Poel is arguably their best climber (that says it all, no offense to him), and the rest of the team is focused on protecting and helping their two leaders: him and Philipsen. They’d better make the most of this first week of competition. When the mountain stages arrive, I don’t believe the team will receive much attention on TV.

Contrary to Alpecin, one of the riders who has remained out of the spotlight so far in this Tour is Primoz Roglic. Today’s finale suited him perfectly, explosive and punchy, but at no point did we see him well-positioned at the front of the group, fighting for the win. If this were the Roglic of a few seasons ago, I have no doubt he would have been right there, battling it out with the likes of Pogacar, Van der Poel, and the rest.

For four years now we have waited to see the version of Mathieu van der Poel we see in the spring in July. And today, that wait came to an end. On paper, the stage was perfect for him, but he still had to execute the win. He even managed to essentially lead himself out for the sprint, very few riders can do that!

Pogacar looks good, but what about Vingegaard? To me, he looks to have made a step, and he looks to be ready to mount a serious challenge to Pogacar in this Tour. A better day for Remco Evenepoel, and Primoz Roglic is probably happy to have a quiet Tour so far, although he would like to be slightly closer to the other GC favourites.

The final 15 kilometers were ones to frame. The succession of small climbs did the rest. At one point, even Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Mathieu van der Poel seemed to be on their limit. That’s when Vauquelin showcased his talent. Onward then toward the finish line. And who suddenly popped up like a jack-in-the-box? None other than Florian Lipowitz. Only one man was stronger at that moment.

The Portuguese rider Almeida pushed himself to the absolute limit to reel in the unleashed young German. Around 1200 meters from the finish, just before the final kick uphill, Lipowitz had to give in. So now it was up to Pogacar to finish it off—perfectly placed in the slipstream of Mathieu, who had to do it all from the front, over 500 meters from the line.

But Mathieu van der Poel pulled it off magnificently. That celebration just past the finish line, the energy, the character to want to win even when totally spent. The Pogacar phenomenon was beaten—because the Dutchman is a phenomenon himself. Nothing more, nothing less. The Alpecin shampoo could be brought out. Two wins from two stages. And not a single hair lost. Remarkable.