Paris-Nice: Jakobsen tops Van Aert to win stage 2

Image 1 of 30

Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) outsprinted Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) from a severely reduced front group to win stage 2 of Paris-Nice after the peloton was scattered into echelons on the road to Orléans. Christophe Laporte placed third to retain the yellow jersey, while his Jumbo-Visma teammate Primož Roglič finished safely at the head of the race to remain in prime position to claim overall victory.

The combination of flat, exposed roads and a stiff easterly breeze meant that echelons were an occupational hazard on stage 2. After some early splits were loosely stitched back together, the decisive sundering of the peloton took place with a shade under 70km remaining, as sizeable delegations from Jumbo-Visma and QuickStep-AlphaVinyl massed at the front.

Despite some missteps, most of the GC contenders eventually scrambled their way across to the 40-strong yellow jersey group, but there were some notable exceptions as both crashes and crosswinds disseminated panic. Defending champion Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) both lost 1:29, and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) conceded 1:53, while David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) crashed and came in dead last, almost 10 minutes down.

After a period of 20km or so of unbridled chaos, where groups seemed to split apart almost as soon as they formed, the race took on some semblance of shape in the final hour, with Jumbo-Visma, aided by Ineos and later by Bahrain Victorious, helping to keep the leaders clear of their pursuers.

Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) showcased his strength with a determined solo effort inside the final 7km, but the Swiss rider was eventually brought to heel when QuickStep-AlphaVinyl brought their collective might to bear with 3km to go.

After an interminable turn from Yves Lampaert, Zdenek Stybar took over beneath the flamme rouge, although QuickStep’s plan didn’t run entirely to script as Laporte brought Van Aert to the front with a ferocious acceleration within sight of the line.

Jakobsen didn’t miss a beat, however, and the Dutchman kicked for home at more or less the same time as Van Aert. He unfurled a crisp sprint to notch up his sixth win of 2022, while Van Aert had to settle for second. Laporte, meanwhile, fended off Luka Mezgec (BikeExchange-Jayco) to take third, while Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) took fifth.

“We love echelons at Quickstep and we were in with four guys. I'm just happy I could finish it off for the team,” said Jakobsen, who signalled the strength of Van Aert, Laporte and Roglič, the top three from stage 1.

“I have to say, the boys from Jumbo were again with three among the strongest. It definitely was not easy, but like I said, we love echelons and we had a lot of motivation before the stage. Even though the legs hurt during 60km of full gas, we could still make it.”

In the overall standings, Laporte retains the yellow jersey with a lead of 5 seconds over his teammate Van Aert, while Roglič is now third at 11 seconds.

As is usually his wont on occasions such as this, Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) was always well positioned amid the chaos, and he remains 28 seconds down on Roglič. Other GC men to make the front group included Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroën), Adam Yates, Dani Martinez (Ineos), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), and they all lie on the same time as Quintana in the overall standings.

How it unfolded

The day’s two climbs came in the first 18km of racing, and so there was little surprise when king of the mountains Matthew Holmes (Lottto Soudal) escaped from the peloton to claim maximum points on the Côte des 17 Tournants and the Côte de Choisel. The Briton was joined in his endeavour by teammate Philippe Gilbert and Alexis Gougeard (B&B Hotels-KTM), and the trio established a maximum lead of more than 6 minutes on the peloton before it contracted sharply amid the flurry of attacking provoked by the crosswinds.

The early stages were also marked by series of crashes, with Wout van Aert among those involved, though the Belgian showed few ill effects as he rejoined the peloton. Meanwhile, a speculative attempt at echelon formation by Trek-Segafredo with over 100km to go was a foretaste of what was to ensue on the exposed road southwards.

The tension ratcheted up in earnest as the first key splits opened with 90km to go, and the scramble for positions was exacerbated further by a crash that saw Gaudu and Matteo Trentin (UAE Emirates) among the fallers. Roglič and his Jumbo-Visma guard were always present at the front, as the bunch splintered and reformed amid attack and counter-attack.

The definitive split took shape with a shade over 70km to go, with Jumbo-Visma, QuickStep-AlphaVinyl and – after a brief stumble – Ineos leading a group of 25 or so riders that also included Quintana, O’Connor and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).

Simon Yates, Vlasov, Haig and Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), meanwhile, were part of a 15-strong group that gave chase at almost 20km, grimly closing a gap of 50 seconds to rejoin the front of the race.

Further back, McNulty, who was caught up behind a crash, Schachmann and Guillaume Martin were engaged in a pursuit of their own, but theirs was always likely to be an exercise in damage limitation. At one point, they were two minutes down, a gap the closed to 1:29 by the finish, but their hopes of overall victory look to have evaporated.

Some momentum was undoubtedly lost in the front group amid the changes of direction on the run-in to Orléans. QuickStep were already thinking of saving men to lead out Jakobsen’s sprint and perhaps few were minded to force the pace with Jumbo-Visma’s collective strength for company, although delegations from Bahrain Victorious and AG2R helped to ensure that a chasing group containing Groenewegen didn’t latch back on before the sprint. The chasers were hindered, too, by a late crash that saw Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) get tangled up with Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

Bissegger made two attempts to upset the sprinters in the finale, first jumping clear with Küng, Laporte and Gilbert, and then surging clear alone, but Lampaert helped to make sure Jakobsen was sprinting for the win.