Mathieu Van der Poel takes Stage 2 at Tour de France

The Netherlands' Mathieu Van der Poel earned his second ever Tour de France stage victory by pulling away from the pack for a Stage 2 win Sunday at Boulogne, France.

Van der Poel, born in Belgium, assured a second straight day of someone from Belgian descent holding the yellow jersey at the 112th Tour de France, after Jasper Phillipsen took the win in the opening stage.

A late sprint by the "Flying Dutchman" on Sunday held off any attacks from fellow riders, including strong pushes from defending champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia, Jhonatan Narvaez of Ecuador (who led going into the summit) and France's Kevin Vauquelin.

Van Der Poel's first stage victory in this race came during the same Stage 2 segment in 2021.

Pogacar moved up from 18th and now sits in second place after two days of riding. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, a two-time winner, is in third.

Three other Frenchmen join Vauquelin in the Top 8: Romain Gregoire, Julian Alaphilippe and Aurelien Paret Peintre.

The race resumes Monday with Stage 3, a smoother 178.3-kilometer ride from Boulogne-Sur-Mer to Dunkirk.

--Field Level Media