AlUla Tour

The picturesque AlUla Old Town welcomed the riders for the start of the race’s second stage, a hilly one taking in several ascents of the Bir Jaydah climb, which promised not just fireworks, but also important changes in the overall ranking led by Tim Merlier.

It took only a couple of seconds for a breakaway to take shape, five riders opening a 3:30 gap before the first difficulty of the day. As the parcours became harder, the leading group began to fragment, leaving only two riders at the front with around 50 kilometers to go.

The route was changed in the final hour of the stage, when the organisers decided to take out the last lap of the circuit due to surface issues. As a result, the race was temporarily stopped before being restarted just five kilometers from home, with only 30 seconds separating the remaining escapees from the peloton who was traveling at a different speed.

On the hard climb to the finish, the sprinters were quickly dropped and a small group rode into the closing kilometer. From there, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) accelerated and took a solo victory, moving into the leader’s jersey. Thomas Pesenti concluded the day as the best placed Soudal Quick-Step rider, while stage 1 victor Tim Merlier changed jerseys and will compete on Thursday clad in the European Champion one.

Photo credit: ©Szymon Gruchalski / Getty Images