Tour 2022: Fabio Jacobsen snatches historic victory in Nyborg, Wout van Aert takes yellow

Fabio Jacobsen won a sprint group in the second stage of the 2022 Tour de France. The Dutchman of Team Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl was the first to finish in Nyborg, after a stormy stage of more than 202 kilometers with the eighteen kilometer Storebælts Bridge in the final. Wout van Aert was second, thus taking an extra six seconds, taking over the yellow jersey from Yves Lampaert.

Four of the first candidates get the space
With Yves Lambert in the yellow jersey, the peloton started at 12.15pm in Roskilde for the first stage of the Tour de France line. After a long neutralization, the first attack was immediately successful. Home racer Magnus Kurt (EF Education-EasyPost) was the instigator of a four-person trip. Sven Eric Bystrom (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Pierre Rolland and Cyril Barth (B&B Hotels-KTM) jumped.

Peloton thought a leading group of four was fine. The runners’ teams allowed the four attackers to lead and gave them a lead of more than two minutes. Then Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl, Lotto Soudal and BikeExchange-Jayco take the lead in serving their sprinters Fabio Jacobsen, Caleb Ewan and Dylan Groenwegen. The bullets vibrated for about two minutes for a long time.

Magnus Kurt wins his first mountain shirt
The first mountain point on this tour, located at Côte d’Asnæs Indelukke, was for Cort. The Dane had previously indicated earlier that he wanted to go for a polka dot shirt and it didn’t disappoint. After the enemy, Kurt and Bystrom continued, because Roland and Barth were released. Bed and breakfast teammates had to pull out all stops to get back

However, the two Frenchmen came too late to compete for points on Côte d’Høve Stræde, with Cort taking the point again after a race with Bystrøm. So Kurt was already sure of the mountain jersey, because there was only one point to be won on Côte de Kårup. This also went to Kurt, who came across the line cheering to celebrate his mountain jersey.

The Danish public stood en masse along the track – Photo: Cor Vos

The nervousness of the wind and the mean enemy
The match was over for Roland and Barth by then, as they were pushed by Kurt and Bystrom within a minute and the gap continued to grow. The peloton followed him up the hill three minutes from the runners and swallowed the French refugees 96 kilometers from the finish. Then the track moved south along the coast and the pace increased due to the tension.

The average sprint was 75 km from the finish in Kalundborg and caused additional strain. Bystrøm was allowed to win the race from Cort, but all eyes were on the peloton. Caleb Ewan got the remaining 15 points ahead of Wute Van Aert, Peter Sagan, Christophe Laporte and Fabio Jacobsen. Meanwhile, the difference between the two leaders shrank to less than a minute.

For Cort, the adventure ended 60 kilometers from the end, leaving Bystrøm alone. Although the wind came from the side in some places, the fans did not. There was a flat tire of Alexander Vlasov, Krists Nylands and Martin Tusfeld involved in a small fall. For Sven Eric Bystrom, his journey ended 31 kilometers from the finish, just before the start of Storebæltsbroen.

Magnus Cort and Sven Erik Bystrøm – Photo: Cor Vos

Val Lambert on the bridge
The peloton started on that eighteen-kilometre bridge twenty-one kilometers from the finish, but that was without Rigoberto Uran, Magnus Corte, and Kevin Vermeerek. They were caught in a trap and had to be chased. The width of the road on the bridge was three lanes and due to the headwind many people looked at each other. It caused an accident with dozens of riders, including yellow jersey Yves Lambert and DSM team runner Alberto Dainese.

Lambert was able to quickly get back on track and with the help of Michael Morkoff back to Peloton. It was very quiet there. The headwinds played such a large role that the group that had launched Urán, eight kilometers away, was able to rejoin. Meanwhile, all trains were on top, with Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl and BikeExchange-Jayco featured prominently. Jumbo-Visma also appeared when driving from the bridge.

Fabio Jacobsen beats Wut van Aert
There was also a massive crash during the last three kilometres, but a good portion of the peloton was able to keep up. The preparation of the enemy was also fast, with many instances of impending fall. In the end, Mads Pedersen was the first to start the race, but Wut van Aert reassembled him. He looked like he was on his way to the victory stage, but was passed just before the end by the very powerful Fabio Jacobsen.

The Dutchman, who was in a coma less than two years ago after suffering a serious accident at the Tour of Poland, scored his first stage victory on his Tour de France debut. Van Aert finished second (again), but took an extra six seconds and could wear the yellow jersey. Mads Pedersen finished third, Danny van Poppel fourth and Jasper Philipsen fifth. Dylan Groenwegen finished eighth.

Tadej reverently did not cross the line in Peloton. However, the UAE captain and defending champion in this round had to contend with a flat tire in the last three kilometers and was able to cross the finish line with ease. Don’t lose any time.