Del Toro and Pogacar Coast to Victory: Tour de France Power Rankings After Stage 2

Updated July 5, 17:24

Two days in, and already we’re wondering how Pogacar can lose. Meanwhile, Isaac Del Toro has entered two Tour stages and won one. Can’t be many records better than that. Tomorrow, the hills get bigger.

So how are the main contenders performing so far? Here’s how our rankings look after stage two.

1. Tadej Pogacar ↥

Last Year: 1st
Position: 2 (+6″)

He crossed the stage two finish line laughing and smiling, hands on his brakes so that teammate Del Toro could get the victory. And so he ascends back to his rightful place at the top of our rankings. Jonas Vingegaard’s lead weas cut by half by a Pogacar who didn’t seem to be out of breath. Is there any way he can lose the Tour this year?

2. Jonas Vingegaard ↧

Last Year: 2nd
Position: 1

The Giro champion has started strong. He took the first yellow jersey of the race, and while he won’t be wanting to wear it on his shoulders for the next three weeks, he’ll be hoping to wear it into Paris for his third overall victory. But first signs suggest that Tadej Pogacar won’t be letting that happen.

3. Isaac Del Toro ↥

First Appearance
Position: 4 (+16″)

Two career Tour stages under his belt, and one victory. Del Toro may have received a gift from his team leader Tadej Pogacar, but Tour de France stages don’t just fall into your lap. Del Toro, winner of the Dauphine this year and second in the Giro last year, is 22 and looks the real deal and can climb with the best. As Pogacar’s teammate, he’s more likely to bury himself in the mountains than chase the GC, though he’s likely to do well in the latter anyway.

4. Remco Evenepoel ↧

Last Year: DNF
Position: 3 (+15″)

Remco is fighting a secondary race this year. He finished ahead of his co-leader Florian Lipowitz by 16 seconds in the opening time trial and extended his lead on stage two. With the Red Bull team juggling two riders who’ve finished on the podium in the past two editions, any daylight between them helps make sense of who to support when push comes to shove.

5. Paul Seixas ↥

First Appearance
Position: 6 (+42″)

Seixas carries the weight of French expectation at this Tour. And it’s a heavy weight to carry. The hype around the 19 year old is justified, but fans should tether their expectations to reality for now. So far, he’s been there or thereabouts at the front of the race.

6. Florian Lipowitz ↧

Last Year: 3rd
Position: 8 (+45″)

Florian Lipowitz emerged as the breakout star of last year’s Tour, shedding his winter-sports background to comfortably hang with the elites in the high mountains. This year, he’s competing with Remco Evenepoel for the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe GC leadership. It’s a battle that Remco is winning at this early stage of the race.

---

7. M. Placeholder ↦

Don’t sweat it. There are 184 riders on the start line and we can’t rank them all here every single day without ending up institutionalized. There are some real talents though, and as soon as one qualifies to join the list we’ll make sure they’re here. Just a little British laissez faire for our week-one rankings (the French should have a term for this).

---

Previous Rankings