00:00 On to stage two of the Dauphiné.
00:19 After a thrilling finish yesterday in Chambon-sur-Lac, where Christophe Laporte overhauled Rune Herregot
00:23 on the finish line, we have a similar sort of day in prospect.
00:27 It's another one for the punchy riders with four climbs and a tough final, but anything's
00:31 possible.
00:32 It could suit a strong breakaway or the sprinters may even survive.
00:36 For the race leader Laporte, a second win isn't necessarily the main priority.
00:40 "It could be a chance for me, but it will also depend on the other teams.
00:52 We're not the only team at the start, and the objective was to win the first stage.
00:58 It's done.
00:59 Now we'll see how it goes.
01:00 We're focusing on Jonas, but if there's a sprint and I'm there, I'll try."
01:05 "Do you think the pure sprinter can survive today?"
01:08 "Maybe more than yesterday, yeah.
01:10 But also we need to take into calculation that tomorrow is a proper sprint day, so I
01:14 don't know how many are going to die to make a sprint today and maybe sacrifice some legs
01:20 for tomorrow.
01:21 But it's always the nice of the race, it's an open race, so we'll go for it."
01:27 "This is one of the hardest races to predict the race situation, because it all depends
01:33 on what other teams want.
01:35 But for sure Bike Exchange want to have a sprint, Jumbo want to drop us, so it will
01:41 be interesting."
01:42 167km between Bras-Aquilin and La Cherse-Dieu.
01:51 There is bound to be a fight for the breakaway at the start, with a couple of early coals
01:55 that could tempt the King of the Mountains contenders.
01:58 The climbs today are short and steep, notably the Cote des Gets, one kilometre at 8%, which
02:04 the riders will tackle twice in the final circuit.
02:08 The weather has at least improved today, with a bit more sunshine in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
02:13 region, but good luck trying to predict a winner.
02:30 Well just before hitting that first loop around La Cherse-Dieu, the peloton caught the man
02:33 in the polka dot jersey.
02:36 Donovan Grandin had got into the breakaway and picked up four points on the first two
02:40 climbs, ensuring he would stay top of the mountains classification for at least another
02:45 day.
02:46 Soudal Quick-Step and Jumbo-Visma working to keep the remaining escapees on a tight
02:50 leash, with Astana Kazakhstan also lending a hand.
02:54 That's because there was a strong group of six riders out front.
02:57 Victor Campenaerts, the former Auer record holder.
03:00 Noss Peters, a stage winner at the Tour de France in 2020.
03:04 Pierre Le Tour and Kenny Ellison, both stage winners at the Vuelta a España.
03:08 Breakaway regular Jonas Gregard was also in there, along with the Italian youngster Andrea
03:12 Piccolo.
03:16 The peloton apparently didn't want to be caught out like yesterday, so they were holding the
03:20 gap at under a minute.
03:21 Just playing a bit of cat and mouse here with the leaders.
03:37 The pace proved too much for some riders though as they began to struggle with cramp.
03:41 Grandin apparently paying for his efforts over these first two days.
03:48 A few minutes later, Le Tour also cramped up and was dropped from the breakaway.
03:54 And the next man who needed a bit of a stretch was Dries Devenants, after putting in a big
03:59 turn on the front of the main bunch for Soudal Quick-Step.
04:09 They brought the gap down to just a handful of seconds, but Campenaerts and Ellison decided
04:13 to push on as the other breakaway riders were caught.
04:19 The Belgian and the Frenchman pulling around 30 seconds clear, but they still had a final
04:23 climb of the coat they get to come.
04:27 And as they approached the climb, Campenaerts was running out of steam.
04:34 The peloton bringing them back as the 8% gradient began to bite.
04:37 And with the GC leaders just eyeing each other up, Tobias Beyer went on the attack for Alpecin
04:42 Kornik, the former junior and under 23 Austrian time trial champion, trying to build a Herigotts,
04:48 but he would be caught with 4K to go.
04:52 Harry Sweeney then tried to counter to no avail.
04:55 The bunch all together.
04:58 Sean Quinn even going for it inside the final kilometre, but this one was going down to
05:03 a bunch sprint.
05:10 It's been a
05:35 tough old season for Julian Alaphilippe, but he said he was feeling good in the build-up
05:39 to this race and really showed it today, sprinting to his first WorldTour victory in over a year.
05:45 The former two-time world champion taking his third win at the Dauphiné after stages
05:49 in 2018 and in 2019.
05:53 Alaphilippe also won the F1 Ardèche Classic back in February, but beating this field at
05:58 this race is bound to boost his confidence before the Tour de France in the summer.
06:27 Alaphilippe taking his 41st career win ahead of Richard Carapaz and Natnael Tespassion,
06:33 who earned his first WorldTour podium.
06:35 Laporte came fourth to keep the race lead.
06:42 The two French riders are now level on time at the top of the overall standings.
06:46 Carapaz goes third ahead of Herigotts, with most of the overall favourites sitting ten
06:50 seconds back.
06:52 Laporte also stays on top in the green jersey classification.
06:55 He is 11 points clearer of Maxime van Gils, with Alaphilippe going up to third.
07:03 Grandin is still the king of the mountains ahead of Le Tour, but they might need a breather
07:07 tomorrow after battling those cramps today.
07:14 Finally it's a Belgian 1-2 in the youth classification, with Herigotts ahead of van Gils.
07:19 Dylan Groenewegen and Sam Bennett both ran out of gas today, but they will have another
07:30 opportunity in Tuesday's third stage, which looks nailed on for the sprinters.
07:35 At 194km it's the longest outing of the week, but Christophe Laporte should hold on to his
07:40 yellow and blue jersey before Wednesday's time trial.
07:43 Thanks very much for watching and do join us again tomorrow.
07:46 Ciao!
08:02 -
08:08 (whooshing)
08:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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