Israel-Premier Tech delivers textbook lead-out in Wallonia, where Kiwi Strong is the strongest

Due to his victory in the chaotic first stage on Monday, Meeus started in the leader's jersey. The Belgian of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe also extended his contract with the German team. So there was double cause for celebration. However, the second stage was significantly more challenging on paper, so Meeus knew he would have to work hard to defend his leading position.

The stage, which covered 188 kilometers from Saint-Ghislain to Ouffet over the Walloon hills, was marked by four escapees from the start. The most notable among them was Pascal Eenkhoorn. The former Dutch champion of Lotto Dstny was accompanied by Johan Jacobs (Movistar Team), Cole Kessler (Lidl-Trek) and Baptiste Veistroffer (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team).

Eenkhoorn apparently had little interest in a futile breakaway attempt: he had hoped for a stronger breakaway group and thus braked after sixty kilometers to rejoin the peloton. The three remaining escapees were stubborn and continued together. Jacobs managed to win the mountain sprints along the way, taking the mountain jersey from Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny).

The three leaders worked hard together to stay away, but the peloton gave them little space. The teams at the back had to work for it: the pace was incredibly high. After three hours of racing, the average speed was over 47 kilometers per hour! The team of orange jersey wearer Meeus did most of the work, while Israel-Premier Tech and Tudor Pro Cycling also contributed. And that meant the breakaway was caught fourteen kilometers from the finish, and the battle for the stage victory truly began.

At twelve kilometers from the finish, the peloton faced another tricky climb, where Lidl-Trek pushed the pace with several riders. A select group broke away, but unfortunately, Kron dropped out in a descent. This meant he had to abandon his ambitions for the stage win.

During the descent, the peloton came back together despite attempts from riders like Per Strand Hagenes of Visma | Lease a Bike. However, there was no real organization, so a few names broke away again about seven kilometers from the finish. This included Sam Watson (Groupama-FDJ), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Wanty), Juan Pedro Lopez, Alex Kirsch (Lidl-Trek), Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech), Jon Barrenetxea (Movistar) and Lucas Eriksson from Tudor. However, they were also caught.

Alpecin-Deceuninck then set the pace going into the final three kilometers, where the road slightly inclined. Israel-Premier Tech tried to create a tough lead-out for their fast man Strong, but the other teams were still on the lookout. Strong started his sprint from afar and saw no one overtake him, making it a more than deserved victory for the Kiwi.