Mathieu van der Poel Wins Stage 2 of Tour de France
The 2025 Tour de France continued Sunday with stage 2 – a 209.1-kilometer stage from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer in terrain dominated by flat sections and short hills. The stage would feature four categorized climbs (categories 3 and 4) in the second half of the stage and would conclude with a short and explosive uphill finish that could appeal to both puncheurs and the general classification favorites in the Tour peloton.
The start list of Tour de France 2025 included World Champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), Mattias Skjelmose (Team Lidl-Trek), Enric Mas (Movistar), Geraint Thomas (Ineos-Grenadiers), Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty).
Yesterday’s stage 1 had forced Filippo Ganna (Ineos-Grenadiers) and Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon-AG2R) to abandon the race following crashes and cross winds had later caused splits in the Tour peloton, which had caused time losses for general classification favorites such as Remco Evenepoel as his Soudal-QuickStep team completely missed out on its opportunities in the stage, not least for sprinter Tim Merlier who could have taken the yellow jersey. Lenny Martinez had suffered in the stage and the Bahrain-Victorious team captain lost more than nine minutes.
Meteorologists were predicting rainy racing conditions for stage 2 with possible thunderstorms later in the afternoon. The wind conditions were headwinds at first, but the racing conditions could possibly intensify as the riders approached the coastal region, where crosswinds could cause splits in the peloton and the formation of echelons that could lead to time losses for GC riders.
Stage 2 of Tour de France 2025 got off to a fast start in Lauwin-Planque in northwestern France. The weather conditions at the start line were rainy and the riders in the Tour peloton were wearing rain jackets while being cheered by eager fans under umbrellas along the route in the starting kilometers.
Bruno Armirail launched an early attack as the riders passed through a small French village on slippery roads. The Decathlon-AG2R rider was joined by Yevgeniy Fedorov, Brent van Moer (Team Lotto-Caps), and always active Andreas Leknessund of Team Uno-X Mobility. While the attacking quartet pressed on at the front, Geraint Thomas visited the team car to switch to another Ineos-Grenadiers jacket.
With the main peloton spearheaded by riders from Team Intermarche-Wanty, the breakaway quartet had built a lead of 02:30 minutes with 195 kilometers of stage 2 remaining.
Norwegian National Champion Andreas Leknessund and the other three riders in the front group had increased their advantage to 02:50 with 170 kilometers left to conquer.
Leknessund and Yevgeniy Fedorov crashed while cornering on the slippery roads with 165 kilometers to go. Hopefully the peloton, which would reach the same corner soon, would navigate the challenging conditions more optimally. The peloton was still spearheaded by Intermarche-Wanty and handled the challenges professionally.
The riders in the front quartet rejoined forces and pressed on with a lead of 02:40 minutes when 150 kilometers remained. Riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck had joined the front of the main peloton to assist the men from Intermarche-Wanty.
The following thirty kilometers did not cause any significant changes, and the front group had a lead of 02:20 minutes with the sprinter teams spearheading the controlled chase effort of the main peloton. The weather conditions had improved as it had stopped raining, and riders were now racing in their regular team jerseys.
Andreas Leknessund won the KOM sprint at the summit of Cote de Cavron-Saint-Martin (Category 4) and earned a point for the best climber classification. Meanwhile, Eddie Dunbar suffered a minor crash in the rear part of the main peloton.
Leert van Eetvelt (Team Lotto-Caps), Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious), and Jordan Jegat (Team TotalEnergies) also crashed in the rear end of the peloton and once again proved the long-known lesson that the rear part of the peloton is often the most dangerous part of the group to be located in.
The advantage of the front quartet had been reduced to two minutes before the final ninety kilometers of stage 2.
The main peloton increased its pace as the riders approached the intermediate sprint of the stage. The increased speed caused the lead of the front group to be reduced to 01:40 minutes with seventy kilometers left. The route of stage 2 would head north after the sprint and take the riders into hilly crosswind territory near the French Westcoast and all GC teams were now on high alert while monitoring both risks and opportunities.
When sixty kilometers remained, the advantage of the breakaway quartet had been reduced to slightly more than half a minute. It appeared the sprinters in the peloton wanted to battle for the points in the intermediate sprint. The peloton did not catch the frontmen before the sprint, but Jonathan Milan proved the fastest rider in the peloton and earned 11 points for the points classification, while Tim Merlier earned ten and Jasper Philipsen nine. Milan was angry and complained over Biniam Girmay after the sprint.
33 kilometers remained, the breakaway optimists had been caught, and the peloton was approaching Cote du Haut Pichot, which was a short, but steep Category 4 climb.
Wout van Aert set a fast pace for Jonas Vingegaard on the climb and other GC favorites, such as Tadej Pogacar, were also close to the front of the peloton on the climb. Tim Wellens later took over the lead for Pogo. This could be a decisive section of the stage, so the climb required full attention. Jonathan Milan, Geraint Thomas and other riders crashed while on the climb.
Multiple splits had occurred in the peloton on the climb and several groups were now chasing with 28 kilometers left to the finish line in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Some of the groups joined forces in the following kilometers, but a chase group was 01:15 minutes behind when 15 kilometers remained. The speed was now intense, and several teams were contributing at the front while preparing for the final bumps of the stage.
With EF Education-EasyPost riders at the front of the peloton, the race was now approaching Cote de Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, which was a Category 3 hill with ten kilometers to go. Visma-Lease a Bike and Groupama-FDJ were also active at the front, closely tailed by UAE Team Emirates.
The speed was intense when the riders entered the climb. Groupama-FDJ and Visma were still leading and Matthieu van der Poel had also entered the battle for the stage win. Vingegaard and Pogacar were both within the top 3 on the climb when the riders approached the summit. Remco Evenepoel was also spotted.
A small group had broken free of the other riders and was now setting a fast pace on the descent that would take the riders to the final categorized climb of the stage. The group featured Axel Laurance, Romain Gregoire, Mathieu van der Poel, Kevin Vauquelin, Matteo Jorgenson, Jhonatan Narvaez, Evenepoel, Pogacar, and Vingegaard. Geraint Thomas, Neilson Powless and other riders caught up in the downhill stretch.
The front group entered Cote d’Outreau and Narvaez set a fast speed. Kevin Vauquelin attacked on the climb, but the other riders closed the gap, though Vauquelin was the first rider to reach the summit.
Jonas Vingegaard attacked on the downhill section that followed with five kilometers to the finish line. Evenepoel closed his attack. Vauquelin attacked with Jorgenson on his wheel. The duo opened a small gap and Lutsenko joined the fun but didn’t contribute.
The attackers were caught, and Florian Lipowitz launched a counterattack for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. 1.5 kilometers remained. Lipowitz was also caught. 700 meters remained.
Julian Alaphilippe tried his luck for Tudor Pro Cycling Team but was caught. Van der Poel tried. Kevin Vauquelin also launched a sprint. Van der Poel accelerated and was the first rider to cross the finish line as winner of stage 2 of the 2025 Tour de France ahead of Tadej Pogacar, while Jonas Vingegaard completed the stage podium.
“The final was more difficult than I thought, but I was really motivated as it had been five years since my latest stage victory in the Tour de France,” stage winner van der Poel smilingly told Roadcycling.com before being celebrated on the podium.
Mathieu van der Poel is the new leader of the general classification and will wear the yellow jersey in tomorrow’s stage 3. Pogacar is four seconds behind the Dutch rider, while Vingegaard is third with a six second deficit.
Monday’s stage 3 of Tour de France 2025 will take the riders in the Tour peloton on a 178.3-kilometer ride in flat terrain from Valenciennes to Dunkerque. The stage profile appeals to the pure sprinters in this year’s Tour, so expect the stage to conclude with a mass sprint finish in the streets of Dunkerque.
Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from the 2025 Tour de France.