Critérium du Dauphiné stage 2 – Live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

The teams are currently signing-on at the start in Brioude ahead of the 172.8-kilometre second stage.

Lotto Soudal's Brent Van Moer holds the race lead – as well as the points, KOM and youth jerseys – after soloing to victory on Sunday's opening stage. The win comes shortly after he lost a chance to win at the Ronde van Limburg after a signalman sent him the wrong way in the final kilometre.

Read our stage 1 report here

There's plenty of climbing coming up today, with five categorised climbs on the route including the second-category Côte de la forêt de Pourcheresse which peaks just six kilometres from the line. We should see a GC shakeup.

The riders will be kicking off today's stage in 20 minutes' time.

Three-time Dauphiné winner Chris Froome at sign-in.

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The peloton have set off to start the stage, though there will be 10 minutes of riding through the neutral zone before they get going properly.

While Van Moer holds all the jerseys today, Sonny Colbrelli will be wearing green after sprinting to second place on stage 1. Cyril Gautier will be in the polka dot KOM jersey, while Patrick Gamper wears white.

172.8km to go

And we're off! Racing has started on stage 2.

Froome has a mechanical problem early on, maybe a saddle issue. He's back at his team car.

He's back in the peloton now while several riders try to get away. It's a high pace at the start.

158km to go

Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa-Samsic), Matt Holmes (Lotto Soudal), Shane Archbold (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Robert Power (Qhubeka Assos) have attacked now and have a 20-second gap.

Trek-Segafredo and Bahrain Victorious chase.

After 18 kilometres of racing, the break has 30 seconds. Could this be our move of the day?

Yep, it looks like that's it. 1:25 now.

145km to go

Four minutes for the break now, and that's that. The stage is set.

No big threats in this break, so the peloton were happy to let them go.

Delaplace and Pöstlberger are 35 seconds down on GC. Archbold and Power are at 4:47, while Holmes. is at 7:20.

A look at the peloton during the early stages of today's race

138km to go

The break has 5:20 on the peloton now as they ride in the valley ahead of the first climb of the day, the Col de Peyra Taillade.

Ineos Grenadiers are unsurprisingly pulling the peloton. They have several GC options, including Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart, and Richie Porte.

Here's our break of the day, led here by Holmes.

124km to go

44.7km done after an hour of racing and now the riders are on the day's first climb, the first-cat (8.3km, 7.4 per cent) Peyra Taillade.

It's the hardest climb of the day but there are four more between the riders and the finish today.

An upping of pace in the peloton brings the gap down to 3:50 on the climb.

The break are heading over the top of the climb now.

116km to go

Holmes grabbed 10 points over top, ahead of Delaplace and Pöstlberger. He's now the KOM leader – tied with Van Moer but ahead thanks to leading the way over a first-cat climb.

A long descent now, ahead of the gradual climb of the third-cat Côte de la Vachellerie.

3:55 between break and peloton as they reach the base of the climb (8km, 4.1 per cent).

Ineos Grenadiers in charge of the peloton.

Ian Garrison (Deceuninck-QuickStep) has abandoned the race. He was in the break on stage 1. No word yet on whether he crashed or is sick.

95km to go

A bike change for Archbold in the break. The gap remains at 3:50 currently.

It's raining out on the course now, but that doesn't deter Holmes from grabbing another two points at the top of the climb. Delaplace took second.

88km to go

3:20 later, the peloton cross the climb. Now the riders pass the finish for the first time before looping around Saugues.

Pöstlberger-Delaplace-Power was the order across the intermediate sprint. The break remains 3:25 up on the Ineos-led peloton.

The riders are on rolling terrain now ahead of the next climb of the day, which lies just under 30 kilometres away.

Benjamin Perry (Astana-Premier Tech) has abandoned the race.

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The riders have passed the 100km mark now and the gap is exactly three minutes.

63km to go

No major drama at the moment as the peloton follow along 3:30 behind the break. The next climb comes in 14 kilometres.

Power has been detached from the break. Four left out front.

Holmes, Archbold, Delaplace and Pöstlberger remain on the front as they tackle the hilly midpoint of the stage.

Power is brought back by the peloton.

The break tackle a descent.

55km to go

Pöstlberger off the front at the moment as the break hit a downhill run.

The Bora-Hansgrohe man is quickly shut down by his breakmates, though.

They start the Côte d'Auvers soon. It's four kilometres long at 4.1 per cent.

Just under three minutes is the current advantage.

The gap is only coming down now. 2:30 as Ineos up the pace.

Holmes grabs a point over the top, beating Delaplace to the line. Pöstlberger and Archbold further back.

Bahrain Victorious move to the front of the peloton.

42km to go

Another rise now and then a long descent to the valley. Two minutes for the break.

Trek-Segafredo and Cofidis also up front in the peloton now. The pace is slackening a little with the gap up to 2:15.

32km to go

Pöstlberger and Archbold have pushed on in the break now.

No time check to Holmes and Delaplace yet.

Ineos and Bahrain continue to control the peloton.

28km to go

20 seconds between the lead duo and the chasers.

The peloton is easing up here. 2:40 now.

Pöstlberger is putting a few bike lengths into Archbold on this descent.

10 kilometres to the bottom of the next climb but there is a short section in the valley at the bottom of the descent.

Holmes and Delaplace are 50 seconds behind the leaders. Archbold back at the front now.

20km to go

Pöstlberger and Archbold pass the 20km to go mark. They're 40 seconds up on the chasers and 2:45 up on the peloton.

The leaders are in the valley now.

A handful of riders have clipped off the front of the peloton.

The Trek-Segafredo duo of Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven have gone on the move.

Meanwhile, Pöstlberger has dropped Archbold on an uncategorised climb ahead of the second-cat climb.

The Côte de la forêt de Pourcheresse (6.9km at 6.4 per cent) is coming up.

Pedersen and Stuyven are caught. Weird move.

2:50 from Pöstlberger to the peloton. Jumbo-Visma and Ineos are both up front.

14km to go

Pöstlberger hits the climb.

Holmes brought back by the peloton.

Three minutes back to the peloton.

Riders spat out the rear of the peloton on the climb as Jumbo-Visma push on.

12km to go

Archbold back with the peloton now. Pöstlberger left out front.

Marco Brenner (DSM) makes a move from the peloton.

10km to go

Pöstlberger has three kilometres of the climb left and lies 1:50 up on the peloton.

Ineos control the peloton. Yellow jersey Van Moer is struggling at the back.

Tim Wellens drops back to help Van Moer. It looks like he's out of the race lead today.

Brenner is dropped after being caught. Chris Froome drops too.

Felix Gall (DSM) tries a move now.

8km to go

1:30 for Pöstlberger as he closes to within a kilometre of the top of the climb.

Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos) and Warren Barguli (Arkéa-Samsic) dropped now.

Gall is caught by the peloton now. Ineos continue to pace the still-large group.

The gap suddenly drops to 55 seconds.

7km to go

Pöstlberger crests the top of the climb. A short descent and then a fourth-cat before the finish.

The fourth-cat Côte de Masset (1.5km at 5.1 per cent) is coming up.

Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) attacks over the top.

O'Connor was in our riders to watch for this race...

5km to go

Pöstlberger hits the final climb of the day now. 

O'Connor is flying along at the moment. 30 seconds back,

He's the only man who made a move stick from the peloton so far. Nobody else is going.

25 seconds to O'Connor and thne another 25 to the peloton, led by Bahrain and Movistar.

4km to go

Pöstlberger crests the climb, now 20 seconds up.

Now a welcome descent for Pöstlberger. Can he hold on?

The peloton flew up that hill and they've caught O'Connor now!

Bahrain push on with Colbrelli in the peloton. 20 seconds to Pöstlberger.

3km to go

This could be a close one...

The peloton can see Pöstlberger just up the road.

2km to go

He's holding the gap so far.

And he's still in the virtual yellow, too.

1km to go

20 seconds still...

It looks like Pöstlberger has this...

400 to go!

Pöstlberger has done it!

Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) wins stage 2!

Colbrelli leads the peloton home 11 seconds later.

Another win for the breakaway.

Valverde was third on the stage.

Van Moer crosses the line over three minutes down. Pöstlberger is in yellow tonight.

Here's what the stage winner had to say after the stage today...

"I planned it a few weeks ago already. I looked at the first two stages here and thought that maybe with not so many sprinters here there is a good chance that the breakaway will survive.

"I gave it a try yesterday but my teammate made the break. In the end it was too hard a circuit for him but today I had a shot.

"It was hard. I was trying to pace myself on the climb and then recover on the descent but the last kicker got me. I couldn't pull the handlebars anymore. The last kilometre was awful. It was pain.

"It means a lot. When I won in the Giro, I was a nobody and I was quite young. Winning here and planning this in advance was a real big achievement and a real big victory for me.

"I wasn't expecting [yellow] to be honest. It's a really good bonus to be in the leader's jersey tomorrow."

A shot of the winner today.

Pöstlberger in yellow on the podium.

Our brief stage 2 report is up now, along with full results.

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