The second stage of the Tour de France could provide some spectacle on Saturday, as the riders will ride along the Danish coast in the second part of the stage and have to cross a long bridge in the final. The Tour organization speculates on fans, but then the weather has to cooperate.
Anyway, the pictures in the last 25 kilometers of the penultimate stage in Denmark will be beautiful. The Great Belt Bridge, opened in 1998, connecting the islands of Zealand and Funen, is one of the longest bridges in the world with a length of 18 kilometers. The eastern part, which the riders will pass first, is no less than 254 meters at its highest point.
Because the wind has free play on the Storebaeltsbroen, as the Danes call the bridge, the passage can cause problems for (classification) riders who are not well positioned in the peloton. The finish in Nyborg is barely 3 kilometers after the end of the bridge. “It’s always blowing here,” said course designer Thierry Gouvenou. “There will definitely be riders who want to try something.”
The weather forecast for Saturday is that the wind will come from the southwest at wind force 3 to 5. That would mean that the wind on the Great Belt Bridge will come diagonally from the front, while a crosswind or wind from behind is needed for fan formation.
“But the weather here is very unpredictable, we have already noticed that,” says Wout van Aert, who had opted for an early start time in the opening time trial on Friday in the hope that it would then be dry, but eventually in the pouring rain through Copenhagen. drove. “I expect a nervous and tough ride on Saturday, but everything depends on the weather.”
According to Pedersen, it concerns the part before the bridge
Trek-Segafredo rider Mads Pedersen, who as a Dane knows the roads of the second stage well, thinks that the most dangerous part of the second stage is already before the bridge. “There’s headwind on the bridge 300 days a year, so I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference. It’s the part before that.”
After the intermediate sprint in Kalundborg, 75 kilometers from the finish, the course makes a 90 degree bend and the riders have to head south along the coast. When there is sufficient wind, there are ideal ingredients for fans.
“There is always a lot of stress in the first sprint stage of the Tour,” says Dylan Groenwegen, one of the contenders for the stage victory. “If there is wind on Saturday, there will be even more stress.”
Groenewegen’s teammate Michael Matthews expects “chaos” on the Danish roads. “I think it will be a very nice stage for television viewers, especially if the wind cooperates.”
The second stage of the Tour starts on Saturday at 12.35 pm in Roskilde. The finish in Nyborg is expected between 5:00 PM and 5:25 PM.
In 2004 the riders in the Tour of Denmark crossed the Great Belt Bridge.
In 2004 the riders in the Tour of Denmark crossed the Great Belt Bridge. Photo: Getty Images
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