Mathieu van der Poel pays tribute to grandfather and Tour de France great Raymond Poulidor as he clinches emotional stage two victory to clinch the yellow jersey for the first time
- Mathieu van der Poel took the yellow jersey with a stage two victory
- The Dutchman powered up the Mur-de-Bretagne to take an emotional win
- He now leads the Tour de France by eight seconds from Julian Alaphillipe
Mathieu van der Poel took the yellow jersey he and his family have craved as he powered up the Mur-de-Bretagne for an emotional stage win in the Tour de France on Sunday.
While Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic strengthened their cases as contenders to be wearing yellow in Paris — and Geraint Thomas lost time — Van der Poel, grandson of Tour great Raymond Poulidor, took the jersey.
His grandfather, who died in 2019, finished second in the Tour three times and third five times during the 1960s and 70s but never wore the yellow jersey. His grandson managed that feat on only his second day in the race.
Mathieu van der Poel took the stage two win and now leads Julian Alaphillipe by eight seconds
The debutant looked to the heavens as he crossed the line, then collapsed in tears.
‘I have no words,’ the 26-year-old said. ‘I gambled a little bit because I knew I needed the bonus seconds if I wanted the jersey. I’m thinking of my grandad, of course.’
Van der Poel now leads Julian Alaphilippe by eight seconds with defending champion Pogacar in third place.
It was a race where Geraint Thomas lost pace compared to his Tour de France rivals