BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France – Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel won Stage 2 of the Tour de France ahead of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar in a sprint finish at Boulogne-sur-Mer on July 6.

After triumphing in a tense uphill finale, van der Poel, 30, took the lead in the overall standings. In the process, he also deprived Pogacar of his 100th career win as around 30 riders broke away in the final 2km.

“It was super difficult, the final was actually harder than I thought,” van der Poel said as he celebrated his team’s second stage win in as many days after taking the yellow jersey from Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen, who won the first stage.

“I was really motivated. It’s been three or four years since I last won a stage (2021), so it was about time I got another one.

“People said I was a favourite for today, but if you see which riders were up there on the climbs, I think I did a really good job to be there.”

A large leading group stayed together for much of the stage which boiled up into a mass sprint for the line, with van der Poel edging out Pogacar in a photo finish while Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard took third place and seemed at ease as he crossed the finish line.

Frenchman Romain Gregoire was fourth and his compatriot Julian Alaphilippe fifth.

Due to adverse weather conditions that caused logistical issues, the start of the stage was delayed by about 15 minutes.

The race got going as Pogacar and Vingegaard tested each other over the final 20km with three short, sharp climbs on narrow roads.

That struggle blew up a peloton that had been largely sedate until then.

Heavy rain left giant puddles at the tiny start town of Lauwin-Planque as the 182 riders set off on the 209km run towards the coastal port.

Regional police estimated that one million spectators had lined the roadsides on the opening day of action, b...