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Ineos have just been to the podium to sign on. That’s Bernal in the white jersey – he’s the best young rider after placing third yesterday. The leadership hierarchy at Ineos has been a major topic of debate but so far the Colombian is the only one who has staked anything like a proper claim. Thomas faces a big few days to see exactly where he’s at in only his second race back, while there’s a growing suspicion that Froome, dropped yesterday, is in a race simply to make the team.
“Jumbo-Visma have been incredibly strong so have Ineos, and everyone is looking at those two teams but there are many, many other strong climbers here and I don’t think it will just be a two-team race,” says Richie Porte.
“So let’s see what happens on the road. I’m looking forward to today’s stage. It looks like it’s going to be a solid test. Whatever happens our team is going to give everything they have for today.”
More pre-race thoughts from the Australian, who shares a name with today’s summit finish, in this story.
👋 Bienvenue à Vienne (en Isère) pour la 2ème étape du #Dauphiné !.👋 Welcome to Vienne for the start of stage 2! pic.twitter.com/YE6Ra36bpCAugust 13, 2020
Before we get going, now’s the time to catch up on the opening day’s action. Wout Van Aert won, obviously, on a sharp uphill sprint at the end of a tough day. Egan Bernal was sharp to take third place while his Ineos teammate Chris Froome was dropped on the final climb. Report, results, photos at the link below.
The riders are currently going through the sign-on process in Vienne. They’ll roll out at 12:50 local time, so in around half an hour, and the stage proper will get underway around 10 minutes later.
It’s a pretty short stage, at 135km, but the riders will have to face the nasty Côte Maillet before taking on the final climb to the finish on the Col de Porte, which, at 17.5km, is one of the longest summit finishes they’ll do all season.
Hello there, and welcome to the Cyclingnews live race centre for stage 2 of a mouthwatering Critérium du Dauphiné. Yesterday, with it’s 218 kilometres, seven categorised climbs, and piercing uphill finish, was actually the gentle introduction. From here on out, it’s summit finishes, all the way through.
