Grégoire bit his nails as Pogacar closed the gap on stage 2: 'Nothing we could do'

For a moment it looked like it was going to be another Tadej Pogacar day in the second stage of the Tour de Suisse, but the yellow jersey holder came just short of catching the early leaders. They had emptied the tank, and Romain Grégoire proved the fastest. The Groupama-FDJ Frenchman knew that he and his fellow escapees couldn't afford a moment's hesitation.

The leaders held what looked like a comfortable advantage as they entered the finale, but on the testing climbs Pogacar rode away from his rivals alongside Mathias Vacek. The Slovenian and his fellow chaser came very close, but the leaders held on by mere seconds. It all played perfectly into Grégoire's hands.

The Frenchman had raced smartly throughout. With teammate Ewen Costiou alongside him in the breakaway, he initially didn't respond to attacks on the climbs, before rejoining each time. In the sprint, he was in complete control. "It was a really hard day," he said in the flash interview. "We managed really well with the team and went in the breakaway. We are really happy with this victory."

When Pogacar accelerated, the gap was down to just forty seconds. The chances for the escapees looked to be shrinking fast. "We couldn't do anything," Grégoire confirmed. "We are just full gas, so we couldn't accelerate. We just had to wait and wish he wouldn't be able to come back. Finally, it was only just, but we did it."

This is Grégoire's second stage win at the Tour de Suisse: last year he won the opening stage. A fun fact: Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike) finished third both this time and last year. Switzerland is clearly excellent territory for the Frenchman. "It's a race I like a lot. The profiles are really good for me, and it's a race where I have the good legs. Tomorrow will be an interesting day, a big battle from the breakaway and the sprinter's teams; it will be a good day."

One stage win may not be enough for the 23-year-old all-rounder. Despite heavy legs, he's hoping for another opportunity on Friday, though he'll need to hold off the sprinters. He said as much himself in the same breath.