Tour De France Stage 2 Predictions: Expert Tips & H2H (Cesenatico-Bologne, 30.6.2024)
- Written by David Bet
Stage 2 of the 2024 Tour De France, a 199km run from Cesenatico to Bologna, will again test the Tour peloton, with six categorized ascents and hot temperatures. Looking for expert betting tips? This post contains our Tour De France Stage 2 predictions, odds, best bets on Winner, Top 3 & Head to Head, promo codes & sign-up offers offers from top and new betting sites!
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TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 2 BETTING PREVIEW
The stage starts from Cesenatico, seaside resort on the Adriatic and hometown of Marco Pantani, the legendary Italian cycling icon who won the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year back in 1998 and tragically died in 2004.
The day will be mostly in the Po valley with some incursions in the the first slopes of the Apennines.
Here are the biggest climbs and elevations in Stage 2:
- Cote de Monticino: Category 3, 2 km long climb at 7.5%
- Cote Gallisterna: Category 3, 1.3 km long climb at 12.8%
- Cote de Botteghino Di Zocca: Category 4, 1.9 km long climb at 6.9%
- Cote de Montecalvo: Category 3, 2.8 km long climb at 7.7%
- Cote De San Luca: Category 3, 1.9 km long climb at 10.6%
After the Cote de Monticino and Cote Gallisterna in the first half of the stage, there are four more punchy ascents over the final 60km. The final two of those come on the ascent to the Basilica di San Luca, which is covered in two laps around Bologna before a flat finish in the city.
With maximum gradients of 19%, the San Luca will also offer up a time bonus sprint at the top with only 12km to the finish line.
It's probably a stage for GC contenders and climbers, but we can't rule out that one-day specialists can staty with the big names.
Stage 2 Favourites
Tadej Pogacar is the red hot favourite to come in first in Bologna. The Slovenian was dominant at the Giro d'Italia every time that the street went up. Competition will be stronger at the Tour but actually nobody can match Pogaçar on steep climbs like the Cote De San Luca. Hence, should the breakaway fail to get a wide gap, the UAE captain can surely win the stage.
Primoz Roglic knows the final climb very well and would certainly love to send a message to his rivals with an early stage win. His team-mate Aleksandr Vlasov could be strategically precious.
The Yates brothers, Adam and Simon, could do something similar to the opening stage of last year while Jonas Vingegaard already looked in decent form but should be more focused on avoid losing time from Pogaçar than winning the stage.
Tom Pidcock is climbing very well this year, is fast in small group sprints and wil lbe right up there on Sunday afternoon fighting for the stage win.
Remco Evenepol often does a good job on Alto do Malhao, a climb fairly similar to San Luca. He also packs a good sprint, which makes him a potential winner.
Other candidates?
Stevie Williams won in April at La Flèche Wallonne, over a similar route to this, and his strong form at the Tour de Suisse surely makes him one to follow as well as Maxim Van Gils, who finished fifth in Rimini.
Most of the sprinters will be shaken off on the climbs but some of the more rounded power riders, like Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen can stay with pure climbers and GC contenders.
Van Aert showed he is in good shape in Rimini, and if he’s in the lead group after the final climb up San Luca, then he has to be a big favourite to cross the line first. Pedersen recovered from a moment of difficulty during Saturday's stage and might be a contender also in Bologna.
Mathieu Van De Poel didn't look brilliant in the first stage and he will probabily need more racing days to reach the peak of his form, while riders such as Michael Matthews (Jayco Alula) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) should be in the mix.
Ben Healy, Paul Lapeira, Santiago Buitrago, Giulio Ciccone and Valentin Madouas are other potential long-shots..
TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 2 PREDICTIONS
The section below contains our experts' betting tips on the Tour De France Stage 2 (Winner, Top 3 and Head To Head recommended bets). 
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