Tour de France Stage 2 Highlights: A Sprint of the Monument Masters and a Resurgent Vingegaard
It was another breathless day of racing at the Tour de France that threw all the peloton's biggest players into the mix.
Jim is a UK-based editor and reporter focusing on road racing, training, and nutrition.
He’s developed a bank of experience working on the ground at all three grand tours, Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, road worlds, and many more prestigious races.
Additionally, Jim writes the ‘Behind the Ride’ series of features that digs into how riders in the pro peloton have become the best in the world. It’s a wide-ranging column that’s covered diet, training, recovery, altitude camps, and a lot more.
And when he’s not working?
After a few decades of mostly dismal results, he’s hung up the wheels on his bike racing career. Instead, now, he’s a trail / ultra racer… but don’t hold that against him.
It was another breathless day of racing at the Tour de France that threw all the peloton's biggest players into the mix.
Van der Poel takes yellow jersey from teammate Philispen after gruelling, classics-style final, Vingegaard third after another day of aggression from Visma-Lease a Bike.
Reusser edges lightning-fast time trial to continue sensational streak of mid-summer form: 'I wasn't sure I was good enough. Now I'm super happy.'
Defending champion Pogačar and archrival Vingegaard animate finale and take early gains in hazardous opening stage: 'I'm just happy day one is done.'
GC riders and sprinters dropped after Vingegaard and Pogačar help force late echelons in high-tension grand départ.
Benjamin Thomas and Mattéo Vercher sent sprawling when rider loses front wheel on white paint of cobblestone climb.
Van der Poel slammed by fans on eve of Tour de France after revealing partnership with 'Flying Group' jet company: 'Take the train, set an example.' 'Selling yourself for the cash.'
From tiny handlebars and huge gears to performance engineers and AI: Aero is everything and data's the king in a race being redefined by science.
4,000 bidons, 80 meters of bar tape, 40 bikes, and a whole lot more: A team's Tour de France packing list is insane. We break down the quantities and costs that power the peloton.
The Tour de France offers the biggest purse in pro cycling, but the reward for yellow is like pocket money in other sports. We break down what's up for grabs this summer.
The Tour de France peloton eats more than ever before, both on and off the bike. It has fueled an upward spiral of training, recovery, and racing performance.
Who has a better support crew, Pogačar or Vingegaard? Here are the stats, stakes, and hot takes underlying the biggest Tour de France team brawl of the century.
Evenepoel cautious calling out ambitions in underdog chase for the yellow jersey against Pogačar and Vingegaard: 'I want do a good GC while taking it one day at a time.'
Preparing for the Tour de France has become a precision science that's made 'racing to train' obsolete.
Andrew Hood, Jim Cotton, and Mike Levy get together to discuss the key storylines, big players, and more about the Tour.
UAE Emirates-XRG confirms powerhouse backing band for Pogačar's quest for a fourth yellow jersey: 'I’m ready to give everything.'
Watch the 2025 Tour de France live on television or streaming via NBC Sports, Flobikes, Discovery+, and more.
Nike's iconic 'Swoosh' nudges back into men's cycling after long absense in lifestyle apparel deal with super team of Vingegaard and Van Aert.
Pogačar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel or Roglič? These are the stages of the Tour de France that will blow up the GC battle and blow you off the couch.
Is it possible to bring a rider to the level of Pogačar? Performance gurus across the WorldTour are still searching for the solution on the eve of the Tour de France.
Aussie ultra lunatic attempting a replica of the 2,428km-long 1903 Tour on a modified Specialized Roubaix: 'It’ll be a modern tribute to cycling’s wildest beginning.'
Decathlon-Ag2r rider De Bondt and EF Education-EastPost staffer under scrutiny after cross-team pull for Richard Carapaz on the Colle delle Finestre.
Michael Woods, Jonas Abrahamsen lose out as the peloton chases a Tour de France peak while risking injury and illness in 'necessary evil' racing at the Dauphiné, Suisse.
Pidcock tethers to a motorbike and lays on an 800-watt, super-tuck descending masterclass in latest piece of Red Bull tomfoolery.
'It's nothing, just some skin off': Race leader Evenepoel comes down in sprint 'safe zone' and pedals to finish, retains GC lead ahead of mountain triple-header starting Friday.
'Measuring ventilation in the field will provide us massive learnings': V-LAB confirms it will start racing with pioneering sensors that provide best possible measure of physiological strain.
Romeo attacks out of power-packed breakaway to thwart top favorite Van der Poel; Pogačar, Evenepoel, Vingegaard cool their jets in the peloton.
Mnstry's new bicarb and carbohydrate gel takes sodium loading beyond the startline and on to the open road. A huge leap for performance nutrition, or a gut-bubbling fad?
'When you see what Pogačar does, it’s obvious we have to try to understand it.' The peloton is scrambling to unlock the secrets of fatigue resistance, the kingmaker of modern racing.
Vingegaard expected to be joined by Jorgenson, Kuss, Van Aert, Yates for box office brawl with Pogačar. UAE Emirates isn't intimidated: 'We're not afraid of anyone.'
Third and final series of hit Tour de France documentary to premiere early July – here's a look at what to expect.
Dauphiné brawl between Vingegaard, Evenepoel, Pogačar will paint only half the picture of Tour de France form: 'Nicer to need to make one more step.'
Visma-Lease a Bike phenom continues incredible breakout with stage and GC rout of Norway – but don't you dare draw comparisons: 'I'm not Van Aert or Cavendish'
Here are the stats that make some sense of a crazy, chaotic Giro d'Italia.
Del Toro slides to second overall at Giro d'Italia after Simon Yates forces rivals into high-stakes game of poker on the gravel of Colle delle Finestre.
Visma-Lease a Bike boss Richard Plugge comes out swinging ahead of Dauphiné-Tour slugfest with Pogačar: 'I have no reason to believe we can't go for yellow again.'
German powerhouse uses brain and brawn to deliver solo raid for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, no changes on GC as Del Toro and Co. cruise through transitional stage.
'I can't see out of my right eye': Spanish sensation and teammate of Del Toro abandons on stage 18 after bee sting compounds injuries from crash.
Shocking images capture Giro rider Alessio Martinelli being winched out of gorge after high-speed fall before being cleared of fractures or other serious injuries.
XDS-Astana go 1-2 on brutal mountain stage, UAE teammates Del Toro and Ayuso lose time, top-3 on GC separated by only 31 seconds after stage 16 showdown.
Roglič climbs into team car after suffering latest in a series of crashes on Tuesday's rain-soaked mountain stage, will scramble for recovery for Tour de France.
Giro week three primer: Historically hard final week puts pink jersey in peril as Del Toro takes on climbing veterans across 20,000 meters of mountain ascent.
Van der Poel to miss opening days of road altitude camp after spectacular falls in Nové Město cross country race, in race to recover for Dauphiné and Tour de France.
Asgreen stuns with solo win after surviving from early breakaway, Del Toro takes 1:20 lead in pink jersey fight after crash upends the top of classification.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s curse of injury and illness continues as all-terrain French ace Laporte ruled out with ongoing, long-term sickness.
Pink jersey Del Toro expands gap over teammate Ayuso with intermediate bonuses and a split at the finish line. Who can stop the Mercxian Mexican?
MVDP makes long-awaited return to cross country this weekend in Nové Město in build toward world title dream in September. Oh, and he's racing the Tour before that, too.
'I expect chaos ... safety is being ignored': Peloton protests against a high-stress, high-stakes final while ASO chief defends hilly twist on Champs-Élysées procession.
Organizers put a radical spin on traditional Paris finale with three climbs of Montmartre before 7km dash toward the Champs. Will we see GC action on the very final day of racing?
'We are committed to making this iconic race more accessible and engaging': Elite 200-mile races will be broadcast in full on May 31 in huge step forward for this 'Super Bowl of Gravel.'
Giro d'Italia takes new complexion as Del Toro suffers losses to pink jersey advantage, Roglič and Ayuso stamp authority, Lidl-Trek powerhouse Hoole storms to career-topping win.
News nuggets: Vingegaard not overawed by Pogačar's 2025 rampage: 'Just because you’re the best in the spring, doesn’t mean you’re going to be the best in the Tour de France.'
Heat training is the blood-boosting buzzword of modern endurance. But is the hype for heat putting athletes at risk of overcooking?
Pedersen out of pink after bruising multi-mountain stage, Roglič holds slim GC advantage over UAE Emirates duo Ayuso and Del Toro in Giro's first classification shake up.
Bittersweet opening to Basque race for SD Worx-Protime as Bredewold wins sprint, Van der Breggen suffers early losses after nasty crash.
'This is not a joke. It’s not a rumor. It’s for real.' Reports suggest the Giro will go Down Under in 2027, and race officials aren't denying it.
Tour de France organizers throw a firework into love-or-hate traditional sprint stage with inclusion of paved climb used in 2024 Olympics.
'It was incredibly hard ... I had to suffer a lot': Pink jersey Pedersen goes 3-for-5 in Giro d'Italia stages, pads overall lead after flurry of accelerations in tricky, hilly finish.
Footage emerges of Pogačar and Vingegaard laying the founations for the next chapter in their sprawling Tour de France rivalry.
XDS-Astana bridged a 5,000-point chasm to climb clear of UCI WorldTour relegation. The team reveals to Velo how it reinvented its performance program to make it happen.
Wondered what the 'Iuman' logo on the front of the Giro d'Italia pink jersey represents? A brand producing 'revolutionary' future-proof undies.
Gee, Arensman both lose time in explosive hilly finale of Giro d'Italia stage 1, Landa taken away in ambulance after horror crash.
Ferrand-Prévot 'not fit enough to continue' Spanish tour after suffering crucial time-losses on Wednesday's stage.
Van Aert reveals viral infection derailed two weeks of training and leaves him unsure of form: 'Pink has become more of a dream than reality.'
"Superman" López remains banned for use of Menotropin after officials reject plea; in brighter news, contract extensions handed to Lippert, Landa, and Pogačar's liutenants.
Can Van Aert write a fairytale ending to his pothole-riddled path to the Giro? Spicy opening stage should throw WVA, Pidcock, Pedersen straight into a stage-hunting slugfest.
Roglič rides into Giro d'Italia with Pogačar as a reference and the pressure to paper over Bora-Bull's miserable spring: ‘He can totally turn around our season.’
Multiple Tour de France stage-winner retires with immediate effect after two years of turbulence: 'It has taken a significant toll on my relationship with the sport.'
Who gets the Giro d'Italia gold stars? We pick the pink jersey contenders for what could be the most wide-open grand tour of the year.
Watch video: Tadej Pogačar has been popping some outrageous wheelies when he’s not crushing monuments or tuning for the Tour de France.
'Any rider who has children is considering what risks they take.' Vingegaard is healed from devastating injuries in Basque, concussion in Paris-Nice, but are there mental scars?
From a Van Aert-friendly trip to Albania through a ride across the Holy City: Here's our favorite hype-worthy storylines for the 2025 Giro d'Italia.
Trainer backs controversial altitude-heavy, race-lite approach as Vingegaard scrambles back from concussion: 'We know this works.'
British paracyclist Sam Ruddock had been missing for over 10 days.
5 takeaways from the cobblestone and Ardennes classics, including the inevitability of Pog, the potential of Puck, and why Paris-Roubaix always rules.
BFR is being used for rehab, recovery, and to augment training. But in many cases, the implementation of this curious hack doesn't stack up to the science.
On-bike footage reveals the carnage after riders clash 8.5km in to Gran Fondo World Series event: 'It was not a pretty sight.'
A shock upset for Pogačar at Amstel and a golden Easter resurrection by Evenepoel throw kinks into the narratives of their 'Big 4' brawl this summer with Vingegaard, Roglič.
Will the revolutionary wearables developed with and used by Visma-Lease a Bike become the next must-have training tool? Here's all you need to know about the 'VitalPro.'
Comebacks, world champions, and super-deep startlists drive the narratives as Pidcock, Longo Borghini, Evenepoel, Kopecky take on the peloton's two prime puncheurs.