Pogacar gifts Tour stage win to teammate del Toro as Vingegaard stays in yellow

Pogacar gifts stage win to teammate

Isaac del Toro won the second stage of the 113th Tour de France on Sunday, crossing the line in Barcelona arm-in-arm with team captain Tadej Pogacar. The 22-year-old Mexican debutant launched the sprint on the flat finish after three ascents of the Montjuic hill, and Pogacar, rather than contesting the win, sat up and cheered his teammate across. Del Toro had earlier overcome a mechanical problem during the stage.

This victory means everything. I am truly privileged, I race in the strongest team in the world. I thank everyone who helped me realize my dreams. I cannot not thank Tadej, it's incredible to be on the team with him.

Remco Evenepoel finished third, just behind the UAE duo, while Jonas Vingegaard rolled in fourth. The 168 km route from Tarragona to Barcelona featured a tense final circuit with thousands of fans lining the Montjuic climb. A crash shortly after the start involved several riders, including sprinter Biniam Girmay, but all continued. French rider Quentin Pacher got tangled in a fan's national flag lying on the road during the first Montjuic ascent.

Vingegaard retains yellow

Vingegaard, who won the opening team time trial with Visma-Lease a Bike, kept the yellow jersey. His lead over Pogacar shrank from twelve to six seconds after the Slovenian collected bonus seconds for second place. Evenepoel sits third overall, fifteen seconds back, with del Toro one second further adrift in fourth.

Before the start, Vingegaard wore a mouthguard and said he was not ill but wanted to take precautions, having been ailing during his past two Tour appearances. Pogacar, the two-time defending champion, said his priority was staying safe on the climbs.

If there is a chance, you always try. But today the biggest goal is to stay safe and survive the climbs.

Lipowitz loses ground

German hope Florian Lipowitz, a teammate of Evenepoel at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, was in the leading group for much of the stage but conceded ten seconds at the finish. He now lies eighth overall, 45 seconds behind Vingegaard.

Wildfires threaten Stage 3

The Tour leaves Spain on Monday for the first mountain stage, a 195 km ride from Granollers to Les Angles in the French Pyrenees. The route includes the category-one Col de Toses (9.3 km at 6.5%) and a short final climb of 1.7 km at 6.5%. However, wildfires in southern France are threatening the stage. Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, prefect of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, said a decision on whether the stage can go ahead as planned would be made by evening.