2019 Tour Of California Stage 2 Recap

2019 Tour Of California Stage 2 Recap
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA - MAY 13: Arrival / Celebration / Kasper Asgreen of Denmark and Team Deceuninck - Quick-Step / celebrates after winning ahead of / Tejay van Garderen of The United States and Team EF Education First / during the 14th Amgen Tour of California 2019, Stage 2 a 214,5km stage from Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe 2022m / #AmgenTOC / @AmgenTOC / on May 13, 2019 in South Lake Tahoe, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) took the second stage of the Tour of California today, edging out Tejay van Garderen who conceded the stage win but seized the overall leader’s yellow jersey. For 24-year-old Asgreen this is his first World Tour victory.

Asgreen rode aggressively in the second half of the stage eventually making his way into the winning break along with van Garderen, Gianni Moscon and Tadej Pogacar. At around 100 meters left he surged to overtake van Garderen, Moscon settled for third.

“It’s my first pro win so I’m very happy right now, and to take it on a stage like this, I’m really happy with it”

Worth remembering that Asgreen finished a surprise second in the Tour of Flanders last month behind Italy’s Alberto Bettiol, many called that a fluke. I think he’s proved them wrong.

Van Garderen, who won the Tour of California in 2013, called donning the yellow jersey a “bit of a surprise.”

“Feels great,” he said. “I mean, it came as a bit of a surprise. I just would have assumed Kasper would have taken the jersey on the back of his stage win. I don’t know what happened to him yesterday.”

Stage one winner and the guy that started the day in yellow, Peter Sagan struggled throughout the mountainous route. Unsurprisingly, he tumbled down the standings.

Van Garderen now has a six-second lead over Moscon, with Asgreen an additional second back.