Isaac Del Toro wins Tour de France stage 2 as Pogacar gifts victory, Vingegaard stays in yellow

Isaac Del Toro of UAE Team Emirates won the second stage of the 113th Tour de France on Sunday, crossing the line atop Barcelona's Montjuic hill just ahead of teammate Tadej Pogacar, who visibly eased up to gift the victory. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a bike) finished fourth on the day and retained the yellow jersey by six seconds over Pogacar.

UAE's show of force

The 168.5-kilometre stage from Tarragona to Barcelona ended with three laps of a circuit featuring the Montjuic climb (1.6 km at 9.3%). UAE controlled the finale, with Brandon McNulty thinning the peloton before the final ascent. On the last 700-metre ramp, Pogacar led out Del Toro and then sat up, allowing the 22-year-old Mexican to take his first Tour stage win. Del Toro collapsed from exhaustion after the line before celebrating with his leader.

General classification

Vingegaard, whose Visma squad won the opening team time trial, leads Pogacar by six seconds. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) sits third at 15 seconds, while Del Toro moved up to fourth at 16 seconds. The gaps reflect the bonus seconds awarded at the finish.

French riders in the mix

Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) and Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM) all finished inside the top ten, three seconds behind Del Toro. Seixas placed eighth according to most reports, though one source listed him ninth.

Stage 3 preview

The race leaves Spain on Monday for a 195.9-kilometre stage from Granollers to Les Angles in the Pyrénées-Orientales. Four categorised climbs are on the menu, including a first-category ascent. Organisers are monitoring a nearby wildfire that could affect the route.