Pogačar hits back at rival as teammate wins stage two of Tour de France

Reigning Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar rarely celebrates second-placed finishes.

Finishing behind anyone is such a rarity that it probably comes as a huge shock, to be fair.

But he was clearly delighted with this one, raising his arms high as he and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Isaac del Toro delivered a masterclass in ascending in Barcelona to claim one-two on the stage, and hit back after key rival Jonas Vingegaard claimed the yellow jersey on stage one.

Del Toro, the 22-year-old Mexican national champion, is a key support rider for the four-time winner Pogačar, and has now been given even more incentive to work hard for his leader.

By finishing second, Pogačar cut Vingegaard's overall lead to six seconds on bonus seconds.

"It means really everything," Del Toro said.

"As I said before, I'm very privileged. Plenty of confidence from the whole team. I cannot believe I just did it. It's just insane. You cannot believe how it feels, now for me, especially for the country.

"We made a plan for Tadej, I did it, but then the gap was bigger, and I just went with the flow to the finish line."

Del Toro suffered a mechanical with 60 kilometres left on the lumpy ride from Tarragona to Barcelona, but despite the delay, was back in the bunch less than 10km later, rejoining the race during the three laps up Cote de Chateau de Montjuïc at the end of the 168.5km stage.

Matteo Jorgenson looked to set the race up for Vingegaard inside the final 10km, with Pogačar in close attendance.

But once Jorgenson burned his matches on the final climb, it was UAE Team Emirates-XRG who took control, responding to the team time trial brilliance put on by Visma Lease a Bike the day before with a tactical masterclass of its own.

Adam Yates led out Pogačar, as Del Toro surprised everyone with a furious launch for the finish line.

Vingegaard finished in fourth place behind Remco Evenepoel, with all four leaders given the same time.

"It was not an easy day," Vingegaard told reporters.

"I think this circuit is not my favourite terrain, so I think I can be pretty happy with keeping the yellow jersey.

"They did a super job, so they really deserved the victory today."

Del Toro said he was happy to get the win for Mexico on the same day that the country's football team play England in the World Cup round of 16.

"We have these 11 guys ripping it in the football; they're doing amazing, and to be at the same level here in France at the hardest race is like a dream," he added.

Monday's third stage is the first of the mountain tests, a 195.9km ride from Granollers in Spain to Les Angles in France with 3,850 metres of elevation.

The French portion of the race will be closed to fans due to risks posed by a forest fire raging in the region, officials said on Sunday.

Should conditions deteriorate further, the race could be shortened.

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