The 22-year-old is third overall at his home race.
On paper, stage 2 was the easiest of this edition, but a series of short but stinging climbs, many of which were packed in the second part of the 168.2km stage around Échallens, were always going to play against the sprinters’ chances of getting involved in the fight for victory.
That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise when many teams joined hands at the head of the peloton with 20 kilometers to go, as soon as the breakaway was reeled in, to increase the tempo and drop many of the fast men. A stage winner last month at the Volta a Catalunya, Ethan Vernon was among those getting dropped, despite giving his best to hang onto the back of the bunch with the help of two Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl teammates.
In the sprint won by Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers), Mikkel Honoré finished as the team’s best-placed rider. His teammate Mauro Schmid came just a few places behind, but in the same time, and kept the lead in the youth classification going into Friday’s stage, which could bring the puncheurs in the spotlight, that is if a breakaway won’t manage to hold off the peloton, helped by the rough terrain, which will barely feature a meter of flat.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
