As of: 07/02/2022 5:19 p.m
Fabio Jakobsen won the second stage of the Tour de France from Roskilde to Nyborg in a sprint. Wout Van Aert took over the yellow jersey.
Jakobsen won on Saturday (July 2nd, 2022) after 202.5 kilometers on the spectacular stage, which led just before the finish sprint across the Great Belt, the 18-kilometer sea bridge through the Baltic Sea.
The Dutchman from the Quick Step Alpha Viny team decided the sprint ahead of Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo). Jakobsen celebrated his first stage win in the Tour of France and thus underpinning his role as a sprint favorite.
Van Aert takes over yellow jersey
Thanks to the time bonus, Van Aert took over the yellow jersey from Yves Lampaert, who had already experienced a moment of shock on the bridge over the Great Belt. The Belgian was temporarily left behind after a fall, but with the help of his teammates he made it back into the field.
Two kilometers from the finish, there was a mass crash in the peloton, which also held up defending champion Tadej Pogacar. However, since the falls happened within the last three kilometers, they had no impact on the time gaps in the general classification.
Jakobsen’s comeback: “Dreamed of it for 15 years”
Jakobsen celebrated his own cycling fairy tale with his victory. Two years ago, the Dutchman’s career seemed over. After a bad fall in the Tour of Poland when he was pushed into the balustrades by his compatriot Dylan Groenewegen, Jakobsen was in an artificial coma for a while and had to undergo several surgeries. After the fall, he only had one tooth of his own and had to have 130 stitches in his face.
“It’s incredible. It was a long process. A lot of people helped me to come back. Today I paid them something back. It’s a fantastic day. I’ve dreamed of this for 15 years,” said the Dutchman after the race.
The best German was Max Walscheid (Neuwied/Cofidis), who finished twelfth. “There were a lot of close situations, I touched the brakes more than once. The track was okay, the wind was very much from the front. So everyone was still there. That made it very unorganized and hectic,” said Walscheid.
A lot of nervousness when crossing the Great Belt
The final over the Great Belt had been the main topic in the days before the race, the fear of wind edges was great. Tour director Christian Prudhomme only decided on Saturday morning which side of the bridge the field should be led over. Apparently the focus on the final kilometers was so great that the stage languished for a long time.
The nervousness in the field was the main source of excitement. After only a few hundred meters on the bridge, Lampaert, the winner of the opening round, was involved in a fall. Only four kilometers later, with the support of two helpers, Lampaert managed to catch up to the field, which was reduced to around one hundred riders. On the second part of the connection across the Great Belt there was a headwind, which neutralized all attacks and finally led to the sprint final.
Last Denmark stage on Sunday
At the end of the guest appearance in Denmark, the tour will continue on Sunday with the third stage over 183 kilometers from Vejle to Sönderborg. This is followed by the first rest day before continuing in France on Tuesday.
Source: sportschau.de