Vuillermoz takes it all
June 6 th 2022 - 16:55
Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) enjoyed the most beautiful day on the way to Brives-Charensac, where he won stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné 2022. At 33 years old, the French puncheur bounces back to success in fashion, after a very intense battle against the peloton. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was the fastest from the bunch, again, but it only gave him a place of 6, 5 seconds behind the breakaway riders.
Alexis Vuillermoz thus takes the yellow and blue jersey, ahead of Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X) and Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ), 2nd and 3rd of the stage. This is the first time Vuillermoz takes a distinctive jersey, and he takes his first victory since 2019, after serious struggles and injuries in the recent years. It will be hard battle for the overall leadership on the way to Chastreix-Sancy resort on stage 3, on Tuesday.
The peloton start from Saint-Péray at midday, with 151 riders and sunny conditions. They quickly go through Tournon-sur-Rhône - where Fabio Aru won stage 3 in 2016 - and face uphill roads that inspire the attackers.
After 18km of battle, five riders manage to open a gap: Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ), Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X), Anthony Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic), Xandres Vervloesem (Lotto Soudal) and Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM). Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) quickly joins them at the front and the gap is up 3’20’’ at km 24.
BikeExchange-Jayco pull, but Groenewegen struggles
Wout van Aert’s Jumbo-Visma set the pace in the bunch on the day after the Belgian star’s dominant sprint in Beauchastel. The breakaway’s lead reaches a maximum of 4’40’’ at km 45, just ahead of the first categorised ascents of the day.
Vervloesem summits first the cat-3 climbs of Désaignes (km 56.2) and Saint-Agrève (km 63.5), but Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM) built enough of a lead in the KOM standings on stage 1 to retain the polka-dot jersey if he reaches the finish without incidents.
Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) controls the gap until BikeExchange-Jayco sends Tsgabu Grmay at the front of the bunch halfway through the stage. But EF Education-EasyPost and Ineos Grenadiers up the ante on the main ascent of the day, the cat-2 climb to the Col de Mézilhac (11.6km at 4.1%), and the Dutch sprinter is dropped inside the last 3km of ascent. Vervloesem faces the same fate in the breakaway.
Roglic works, Vuillermoz dominates
At the summit (km 109.8), the peloton trail by 3’10’’, and Groenewegen, assisted by his teammates, is 50’’ further behind. The road keeps rising towards Le Gerbier de Jonc and Trek-Segafredo also participate in the chase. At the intermediate sprint (km 124.3), the gap from the attackers to the bunch is down to 1’40’’, and the Groenewegen group trail by another 1’40’’.
The five riders still at the front work well together to enter the last 25km with a lead of 1’35’’. At the bottom of the final climb - the cat-3 Côte de Rohac, to be summited with 9km to go -, the attackers lead by 45’’. Trek-Segafredo set a hard pace and the gap is down to 30’’ over the top… But the attackers maintain that advantage into the last 3km.
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) also participates in the chase, but it’s too late. Olivier Le Gac launches the sprint 300m away from the line. Alexis Vuillermoz quickly reacts and eventually passes his compatriot just before the line, with Anders Skaarseth squeezing in P2. Wout van Aert is the first rider from the bunch to cross the line, 5 seconds later. The Belgian star loses his yellow and blue jersey to Vuillermoz.
Vuillermoz: "I wanted to enjoy myself and it paid off"
"It’s incredible. After two years of struggles and a pelvic fracture, I could have stopped riding. But I still wanted to come back. I didn’t really believe in it today, but I saw the break was going and the team didn’t have anyone at the front, so I decided to follow because I was in a good position to do so. I wanted to enjoy myself and it paid off. It wasn’t always easy at the front as a lightweight, but I took my turns at the front. I thought we would get caught but we didn’t wait and see, we took our chance and we were right. When you’re at the front, you have to fight until the end. It was a very long sprint, a bit scrappy. When Olivier [Le Gac] attacked, I didn’t think I would come back, but he faded a bit with 50m to go. I went after him and I was afraid someone else would come back from behind, but it worked out. I’ve never worn a distinctive jersey, it will be a bliss even though it may be difficult to keep it tomorrow with the Chastreix-Sancy finish."