The second leg of the 109e Tour de France was marked by several major falls, including a last one that occurred in the last three kilometers of the route. Quebecer Hugo Houle (Israel – Premier Tech), who was then in front of the peloton, managed to avoid this fall to end the day on 21e rank.
Posted yesterday at 5:18 p.m.
“It was very tense at the front of the peloton, there was a good headwind at the finish and it was elbowing. I managed to avoid the fall 1.5 kilometers from the finish to continue with the leading group. My teammate Chris Froome fell in this last fall and earlier it was Krists Neilands who fell in another pileup, more fear than harm, however,” explained Houle in an interview with Sportcom.
Houle was the first member of Israel – Premier Tech to cross the finish line on Saturday, he was followed moments later by Guillaume Boivin, who finished 39e.
For his part, Antoine Duchesne (Groupama – FDJ) concluded his working day at 108e rung.
“It was a very beautiful day where the public was incredible. There was a lot of tension throughout the day. We all managed very well in our team and we were always at the forefront. Everything went as planned,” mentioned Duchesne.
For the second time in two days, a member of the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl formation won the stage. Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen won in the sprint ahead of Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Dane Mads Pedersen (Trek – Segafredo).
Van Aert, who had also finished second the day before, climbed the provisional general classification and took the yellow jersey, ahead of his compatriot Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), who had won the time trial on Friday.
The cyclists remain in Denmark for a final day on Sunday as a 182-kilometre stage is scheduled between Vejle and Sonderborg.
Significant fall for Olivia Baril
Everything was going well for Olivia Baril (Valcar – Travel & Service) since the start of the Giro d’Italia. Things got complicated during the third stage when the Quebecer was unable to finish the race after a major fall.
“I had a really bad fall and my knee hit a rock. I’m going to need stitches tomorrow morning,” Baril explained.
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) for her part ended the day at 92e step (+29 seconds).
“It was quieter for me today as we knew it was going to end in the sprint. There wasn’t too much control to do for my team and my goal was to help Letizia Borghesi (19e) towards the end of the race,” said Vallières-Mill.
Dutch Marianne Vos (Jumbo Visma) won the stage in a mass sprint, just ahead of her compatriot Charlotte Kool (DSM). The Italian Elisa Balsamo (Trek – Segafredo), holder of the yellow jersey, ranked third.
Balsamo kept her leader’s jersey while Marianne Vos approached three seconds behind her in the provisional general classification.
The third stage of the Giro will take place on Sunday in the streets of Cesena.