The maillot jaune may well be up for grabs again on stage 2 of the Tour de France, as with two categorised climbs in the final 10km, the pure sprinters are not expected to be in contention for the victory come the finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) seized the first maillot jaune from a reduced bunch in the opening stage in Lille, but the Belgian will have a harder time in the lumpy final 30 kilometres that include three categorised climbs, the last ascent, the Côte d’Outreau (0.8km at 8.8%), tops out with just 5.3km to go.
Before then, the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont (1km at 10.6%) at 8.7km to go and Côte du Haut Pichot (1.1km at 9.4%) with 29.8km to go will not favour the pure sprinters.
There are some sprinters will may be able to hang on to the front end of the peloton, but they will have to battle the puncheurs and possibly even the GC contenders for a chance to snag the coveted yellow jersey from Philipsen.
Crosswinds could also be a decisive factor in the outcome of the stage for the second day as the breeze coming in from the sea could cause splits in the peloton once they reach the coast.
Stage 2 Sprints
Énocq, km. 154.6
Stage 2 Mountains
Côte de Cavron-Saint-Martin (cat. 4) km. 104.3
Côte du Haut Pichot (cat. 3) km. 179.3
Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont (cat. 3) km. 200.4
Côte d'Outreau (cat. 4) km. 203.8
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Joseph Lycett is a freelance writer for Cyclingnews and has been covering professional cycling since 2022, writing for outlets such as GCN and Cycling Weekly. Joe is also a keen cyclist himself, regularly racing in his local crit races and time trials.
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