Julian Alaphilippe wins his first victory of the season in the sprint

It was in the sprint that Julian Alaphilippe won his first victory of the season, this Tuesday in Viana, during the second stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. Perfectly led by his young teammate from Quick-Step Remco Evenepoel in the last corners, the double world champion imposed his power, ahead of his compatriot from the TotalEnergies formation Fabien Doubey.

Previously, the peloton had swallowed the last breakaways less than a kilometer from the finish line. “Few teams wanted to ride, I thought the breakaway was going to hold until the end… But in the end, the whole team did a huge job, Remco took the last corners perfectly, I couldn’t lose”, launched the Frenchman on arrival.

The Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), winner of the inaugural time trial, remains leader of the general classification. On Wednesday, the third stage will see the peloton foray into the Basque province of Araba, between Laudio and Amurrio, for a stage punctuated by three third category bumps and two second category climbs.