The second stage of Paris-Nice 2024 went to Arvid de Kleijn. Tudor Pro Cycling’s Dutch sprinter proved to have the fastest legs in the sprint over a 117.6-kilometer course between Thoiry and Montargis.
De Kleijn, 29, who won his first WorldTour victory, defeated New Zealander Laurence Pithie (Groupama – FDJ) and compatriot Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla). The four Colombians arrived in the bunch with the same time as the winner.
The second fraction of Paris-Nice, which was on the sprinters’ list, featured two third-category climbs: the Côte des Mesnuls (1.2 km at 5.7%) and the Côte de Villeconin (700 meters at 6.3%), but both were far from the finish.
The breakaway of the day was led by German Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost) and Frenchman Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies). The duo received the peloton’s blessing and rode together to the Côte des Mesnuls, but before reaching the Côte de Villeconin they were caught by the peloton.
Then the Lotto Dstny men were very active, first it was Victor Campenaerts, who was unsuccessful, but his teammate Pascal Eenkhoorn had more ‘luck’. The Dutchman built up a lead of one minute on his own.
Eenkhoorn’s valiant attempt soon proved to be a futile mission. It didn’t take long for the peloton to catch the escapee. On the Côte de Villeconin a battle for the mountain points ensued and suddenly we saw Burgaudeau again. The Gallic rider took all the spoils and even took the King of the Mountains jersey.
In the last ten kilometers, the nervousness in the peloton increased. Suddenly, it was a battle for position and the sprinters’ teams appeared. Arvid de Kleijn managed to position himself excellently, thanks to his teammate Maikel Zijlaard and took his first win at World Tour level.
The ‘race of the sun’ will continue on Tuesday with the third stage around the capital of the Yonne department, Auxerre, in a 26.9-kilometer team time trial.
París – Niza 2024 (2.UWT)
Resultado etapa 2 | Thoiry – Montargis (177,6 km)
| 1 | Arvid de Kleijn | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 4:41:02 |
| 2 | Laurence Pithie | Groupama – FDJ | ,, |
| 3 | Dylan Groenewegen | Team Jayco AlUla | ,, |
| 4 | Danny van Poppel | BORA – hansgrohe | ,, |
| 5 | Gerben Thijssen | Intermarché – Wanty | ,, |
| 6 | Sam Bennett | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | ,, |
| 7 | Dries Van Gestel | TotalEnergies | ,, |
| 8 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 9 | Pascal Ackermann | Israel – Premier Tech | ,, |
| 10 | Matteo Sobrero | BORA – hansgrohe | ,, |
Clasificación General Individual
| 1 | Laurence Pithie | Groupama – FDJ | 8:17:20 |
| 2 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 3 | Olav Kooij | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 4 | Matteo Jorgenson | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:04 |
| 5 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal – Quick Step | 0:06 |
| 6 | Egan Bernal | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:08 |
| 7 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Kaden Groves | Alpecin – Deceuninck | 0:10 |
| 9 | Sam Bennett | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | ,, |
| 10 | Jon Barrenetxea | Movistar Team | ,, |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico