Resembling an Ardennes Classic, stage 2 was one for the puncheurs and attackers.
One day after tackling the Mur de Huy, the peloton climbed another iconic climb, Côte de La Redoute, where just three months Remco Evenepoel powered away from the peloton and took a memorable solo victory in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. This time, the hill featured on the route of the second stage, which overall leader Julian Alaphilippe started by notching up three bonus seconds at the first intermediate sprint.
The race changed for the team some 50 kilometers into the stage, when Dries Devenyns was involved in a crash and had to abandon, at a moment when the breakaway was four minutes clear. Having just five men left to protect Alaphilippe on this scorching hot day and going over a relentless up-and-down course comprising many steep climbs, our squad didn’t have the easiest of times when it came to control the escapees and the numerous attacks that came thick and fast in the last hour of racing, when the peloton split and numerous groups formed.
The win went to Oier Lazkano (Movistar), who survived from the original breakaway after dropping his companions on the last ascent, while Julian and the peloton crossed the line a couple of minutes behind and was quick to share his thoughts: “I want to thank the entire team, because they did the maximum today. It wasn’t easy with the heat and with losing Dries, but we did our best. In the finale, I didn’t have the legs, but I have no regrets, because the guys in the front were just better.”
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
