Two of our Devo riders finished in the main group the mountainous stage two of the Tour de l’Ain.
One of the youngest teams present at this year’s edition of the French race, Soudal Quick-Step played an important role on the second day of the event, which travelled from Saint-Vulbas to Lagnieu, over 161.9 kilometers.
A double ascent of the Col de Portet (14.6km, 5.4%) was the main attraction of this stage that shook up the overall standings and left just a couple of riders in contention for the yellow jersey. The first climb was just an appetizer for what came one hour later, when things heated up and some squads decided to shred the peloton. Among these, Soudal Quick-Step, who pushed a steady tempo that reeled in the breakaway and whittled down the peloton to just a handful of riders.
Giro della Valle d’Aosta champion Henrique Bravo was one off the four men to crest the ascent, before other riders joined them on the fast descent, including Said Cisneros, who had already worked hard for his Brazilian teammate together with Erazem Valjavec on Portet. In the closing kilometers, Markel Beloki (EF Education-Easy Post) attacked and soloed to victory, but the favourites’ group finished less than a minute behind him and Henrique sprinted to seventh, a result that elevated him to fifth on the GC, where Said sits in 12th place.
Bravo, who is just three seconds from making it onto the overall podium, is the new KOM leader of the race and will wear the polka dot jersey on the stage to Lélex Monts-Jura: “It was a good day and our team did a good job. On the final climb there were some attacks, but we continued to be prominent and we can be content with what we did. I’m glad to have the jersey for Thursday, when we’ll once again do our best to get a good result.”
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
