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- Marc Hirschi narrowly missed the one-day victory on the second stage of the Tour de France.
- The Bernese Sunweb rider was beaten only by Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) in a group of three sprint in Nice.
- The Frenchman from the Deceuninck-Quickstep-Team takes over the leader jersey from Alexander Kristoff (NOR / UAE Team Emirates).
If the finish line had been 10 meters further back, Switzerland would have celebrated the first Tour de France stage winner since Fabian Cancellara: Hirschi chased Alaphilippe, who had started the sprint, and got closer and closer to the striker, but already It was not enough. .
Alaphilippe, Hirschi and Britain’s Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) escaped 13 km from the finish line on the last slight climb and took advantage of the disagreement over the chase on the field.
Hirschi on white
Thanks to the bonus, Alaphilippe took the jaune jersey, 4 seconds ahead of Yates, who had won a few seconds in an intermediate sprint. Hirschi is 3.7 seconds behind The Bernese Tour rookie can take comfort in the fact that he can wear the white jersey of the best young pro.
Before that, Benoît Cosnefroy (FRA / AG2R) had shaped the 186 km long stage. The 24-year-old started the escape of the day, which ended about 40 km from the destination. As the day before, quite a few cyclists fell, according to the winner of the Dauphiné, Daniel Martínez (COL / EF Pro Cycling).
Gilbert and Degenkolb are gone
Belgian Philippe Gilbert and German John Degenkolb of the Lotto Soudal team did not start for the second half. Former world champion Gilbert broke his left kneecap in a fall Saturday. Sprinter Degenkolb crossed the finish line outside the time limit. Spaniard Rafael Valls (Bahrain-McLaren) had to surrender with a broken thigh. The start stage was overshadowed by numerous falls.
So it goes
Monday’s third stage leads 198 kilometers from Nice to Sisteron inland. Four climbs in categories 3 and 4 have to be mastered, but the terrain is flat for the last 50 kilometers.
