Some of the general public probably got to know Romain Grégoire better this Sunday. On stage 2 of the Tour de France, the Frenchman not only claimed an excellent fourth place in Boulogne-sur-Mer, on an uphill finish, but he was also the only one able to follow the “big guns” when the race exploded with ten kilometres to go. Perfectly placed by his teammates in the “money time”, the young man achieved his best result on the Tour de France. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Quentin Pacher also finished in the first peloton of around twenty riders, and the French climber moved up to 20th place overall.
For the second day of racing on the Tour de France, the riders already set off this Sunday for the longest stage of the 2025 edition. Between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer, 209 kilometers were to be covered, but above all, the challenging profile was expected to make it a difficult day for the peloton. In particular, two steep climbs in addition to the uphill finish featured in the last ten kilometres, and almost all attention was focused on this key moment. Before that, the peloton rode at a solid pace, under the rain, behind a four-man breakaway. The sky cleared at the start of the second half of the race, then the tension gradually increased. With about fifty kilometres to go, the fight for positioning began in preparation for the first climb of the final, the Côte du Haut Pichot, located twenty kilometres further on. Lewis Askey tackled it in the very first positions and was the only rider from Groupama-FDJ to join the first group, which detached following a crash on this very climb. Part of the peloton then managed to come across, including all of his teammates.
“With Clément and Cyril, we’re super calm,” Benoît Vaugrenard
The pack was still a bit reduced as it headed into the day’s explosive final. Having numbers in front, Groupama-FDJ showed their collective strength with twelve kilometres to go by placing no fewer than five riders at the front of the peloton to approach the Saint-Etienne-au-Mont climb (1.1 km at 9.4%) in the best possible way. “It was clearly the plan,” assured Benoît Vaugrenard. “We had to be positioned, and with Clément and Cyril, we have two great captains who do that to perfection. With them, we are super calm in the car, and they did an excellent job again.” This is how Romain Grégoire was dropped into the first positions on the climb, while Lewis Askey continued his teammates’ effort on the first slopes. The peloton stretched out, splits occurred, Matteo Jorgenson increased the pace even more, and there were only five men left in his wheel 300 metres from the summit: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel and … Romain Grégoire. “With all the work done by the guys, who placed me ideally at the foot, I couldn’t drop or crack,” he said. “Honestly, I was almost comfortable in the wheels and in this group.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” Romain Grégoire
A group of six riders therefore took the lead over this first climb, before around twenty riders, including Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Quentin Pacher, came back in the transition section leading to the Côte d’Outreau (800m at 8%). While this climb caused some damage from the back, the favorites mostly neutralized each other, and a very thinned peloton headed towards Boulogne-sur-Mer for a slightly uphill finish. Romain Grégoire then made a clear choice: “I felt van der Poel wanted it badly, that he wasn’t going to miss out, so I wanted to be on his wheel at all costs. I was there at 600 metres, but at 450-500, I got a bit boxed in, and I didn’t dare fight enough to hold his wheel. I lacked a bit of grit.” The Frenchman started the final sprint in sixth position and was unable to climb beyond fourth place, falling just off the podium at the finish line. “I still have a few regrets,” he confided. “I certainly didn’t have the legs to beat the first two (van der Poel and Pogacar, editor’s note), but I would have liked to be in his wheel at 200 metres, just to try! It’s only a matter of time.” “It’s not just anyone in front of him,” Benoît added. “I think we could have gone for the podium but winning would have been difficult. In any case, I’m satisfied with the team’s attitude. We’re up there, we’ll continue like this, and I’m sure things will go our way.”
Also present in the front pack alongside his young teammate and Quentin Pacher, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet climbed to twentieth place overall on Sunday. Furthermore, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team leads the Tour de France team classification after the first two stages, having placed three men in the first peloton on both Saturday and Sunday. They should be able to maintain this position on Monday in what will probably be a sprint stage towards Dunkirk.
