Discover the Stage 2 highlights
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https://www.instagram.com/thesalulatour/
#TheAlUlaTour
More exclusive contents on Tour de France Club : https://www.letour.fr/fr/club
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
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SportsTranscript
00:00Three opportunities for the sprinters normally.
00:09Here goes Tim Merlier, Merlier all the way to the line.
00:12If I can win the stage here I will be really happy.
00:16The wolf pack has roared and Merlier has taken the stage.
00:21Tim Merlier was in a league of his own in yesterday's sprints, becoming the first leader
00:25of this Alula Tour.
00:27But the Belgian is set to lose his green jersey today, as the GC hopefuls face off on the
00:32road to Bir Jaida Mountain Worker.
00:35Eddie Dunbar is one of the top contenders for home team Jacob Alula, but the Irishman
00:40may not have it all his own way, and this race always throws up surprises.
00:53Just under 160k on the menu today, and it's all about that climb of Bir Jaida Mountain.
00:582.9km at 9.2%, with gradients of up to 15%.
01:03The riders will go up it three times in total, with precious bonus seconds available when
01:08they cross the finish line for the second time.
01:11Tonight's GC will give us a clearer picture of who can win this fifth edition.
01:22The peloton heading out into more spectacular scenery around Alula, these remarkable rocky
01:27landscapes which are typical of the region.
01:30There were five men in the day's breakaway, but by the time live pictures began, only
01:34three remained.
01:35Simone Riccani from JCL team Yukio, Mohamed Abdelhalim from the Terengganu cycling team
01:42and Jens Rijnders from Wagner-Bazin, the trio tearing along at high speed.
01:50Their advantage was around three and a half minutes on the peloton, who were in the process
01:54of catching up to Mohamed Rosly, the leader of the most active rider competition, had
01:58taken three points at the first sprint before sitting up.
02:08Well the pace in the main bunch was fairly leisurely for now, which meant that Tim Mollier
02:12didn't really have to panic when he was held up by a mechanical issue.
02:19A couple of VIP guests enjoying the best seat in the house.
02:22Well there was also a problem for the UAE XRG leader Rafael Mica.
02:28He crashed heavily in yesterday's final, losing over six minutes and any chance of winning
02:32the race.
02:34But soon back in the bunch here as they approached the first climb, and a few riders appeared
02:38to be complaining about the road surface.
02:45As they started going uphill, Abd Halim was dropped from the front of the race, leaving
02:50just two men in the breakaway.
02:55Rijnders and Rakhani leading the way up this short but punishing difficulty.
03:01Their gap to the peloton was still around three minutes.
03:06They soon crossed the finish line for the first time.
03:16The pace proving too much for the pure sprinters like Dylan Groenewegen who was fifth yesterday.
03:25There was then a twist in the story of this stage.
03:38Due to dangerous road conditions on the descent, the race organisers took the decision to shorten
03:43the stage, cutting out the final lap.
03:46They also neutralised the rest of the descent, taking the riders to the five kilometres to
03:50go mark before starting things up again.
03:53Race director Jean-Marc Marino explaining the situation to the peloton, obviously rider
03:58safety is the number one priority.
04:02Rijnders and Rakhani were given back their small advantage on the peloton before they
04:05hit the gas again.
04:07It would be a five kilometre uphill sprint to the finish line.
04:17And here it goes.
04:19Stage two of the Alula Tour, which was neutralised, is now back in racing.
04:25Well, Rijnders and Rakhani still a few seconds clear of this charging peloton.
04:30A little further back, Moliere was preparing to say goodbye to the green jersey as he was
04:35dropped.
04:38The two breakaway riders swallowed up and the road was soon rising again with the punchers
04:43and climbers jostling for position.
04:47Micah taking over at the front and doing some real damage.
04:54Micah starts to turn the pressure at 1.3 kilometres to go.
05:05Now a big attack on the left hand side, a big move by Akipo Kern-Farmer.
05:11Hugo Asnar of Akipo Kern-Farmer then tried his luck, but he couldn't shake off the likes
05:15of Tom Pidcock, Eddie Dunbar and Rainer Keplinger of Bahrain Victorious.
05:21Fourteen percent now this gradient, it really bites the legs.
05:26An impressive effort too from the mountain bike world champion Alan Hathaway, Dunbar's
05:30team mate, making his world tour debut at this race.
05:33But all of them were powerless to stop Pidcock when he unleashed with 500 metres to go.
05:40And here goes the attack.
05:41Pidcock puts on the power now.
05:44The rider from Q36.5, look at the injection of pace from Tom Pidcock.
05:50What a momentous attack from this rider.
05:53It's almost like he has unleashed all the stress of the last few months and he has absolutely
06:00blitzed his way up this climb.
06:03Pidcock now is going for glory to give his Q36.5 team the first victory of the season
06:10and his first victory in the colours.
06:13He looks around.
06:14Has he gone too early?
06:15No, he hasn't.
06:16200 metres to go, Tom Pidcock, he has moved from the Ineos Grenadiers to Q36.5.
06:24All the pressure, all the stress, all those moments where Pidcock wasn't believed in,
06:30he has now put it all on the pedals and he is going to fire his way to the finish line
06:35to take a huge victory for Q36.5.
06:40He's answered every single question.
06:44On stage number two, Q36.5 win the stage.
06:50On just his second race day for Q36.5, Tom Pidcock already has his first victory.
06:57The British star said it was refreshing and motivating to be embarking on this new adventure
07:01after four seasons with Ineos and he's off to the ideal start.
07:05This is his sixth career victory on the road.
07:08Today was super important for me.
07:10A new team, all these great people and I just wanted to do them proud today.
07:16The team rode brilliantly.
07:18They had full commitment for me and I was highly motivated for today.
07:26Pidcock winning ahead of Keplinger and Hathaway to take control of this Alula Tour.
07:31Dunbar was fourth ahead of Stéphane de Bode, who's now with the Terengganu team.
07:40Well Pidcock said he was here to target stages and GC and he takes over the leader's green
07:45jersey from Moliere.
07:47The top seven on the stage are the top seven overall.
07:51Pidcock also takes over at the top of the points classification.
07:54He and Moliere are both on 15 points, but the British rider leads thanks to a better
07:59overall position.
08:02Odney Halter is the new leader of the youth classification.
08:05He takes white from Frank Vondenbroek, who's just four seconds back.
08:12And Rossley remains the most active rider, although Reinders, also in the breakaway today,
08:17has drawn level on eight points.
08:19Join us again on Thursday for another sprint stage to the Tamer Fort and thanks for watching.