In the approach to the finish line of the Tour de France's second stage in Bologna, crowds banged the barriers, screaming as a single rider emerged: Kévin Vauquelin. The Arkea-B&B Hotels rider raised his hands in the air, encouraging the spectators to scream louder, to bang harder. And rightly so: Vauquelin had secured the first ever Tour de France victory for his team, and the second successive stage win for a French rider.
Vauquelin had spent the day in a breakaway of 10 riders, which formed after just 8 km of racing. This included Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier-Tech), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Wanty) and Jordan Jegat (TotralEnergies).
