Vasil Kiryienka

All 198 riders came home on a wet and winding Stage 2 of the 2016 Tour de France. Gorka Izagirre of Movistar Team and Vasil Kiryienka of Team Sky moved into 99th and 100th places, respectively, for general classification and hold les Cuspides.

Kiryienka is a perennial favorite for the Point d’Appui, riding out front in support of Sky team leader Chris Froome for most of the day and then falling back through the standings after his work is done. Along with winning the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France, Kiryienka finished two stages of the 2014 Tour on les Cuspides and in 2013 finished the Vuelta a España on les Cuspides. He was on pace to do well in the 2013 edition of le Tour before missing a time cutoff.

Kiryienka would be the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Point d’Appuit barring similar disaster, but Markel Irizar of Trek-Segafredo is only five spots off the middle and Paolo Trialongo of Astana Pro is only six away.

Gorka Izagirre and his brother, Jon, ride in support of GC contender Nairo Quintana. During the 2015 Tour de France, their team placed first in the team competition. Jon held the Point d’Appui after Stage 2 of the 2013 Paris-Nice race. Gorka finished 5th overall in this year’s Tour of Dubai, so he has some fire power that might lead him higher in this year’s standings.

Peter Sagan of Tinkoff won Stage 2 and also took on the mantle of the yellow jersey, the first time he has been race leader and the first time since 2013 that he won a stage of the Tour de France. Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18, injured during a fall in Stage 1, dropped into the Lanterne Rouge but survived the time cut-off.

The rolling terrain of the 183-kilometer stage between the start at Saint-Lô and strongly uphill finish at Cherbourg played well to the puncheurs, among them Sagan.

The two riders on les Cuspides after Stage 1 — Simon Geschk of Team Giant-Alpecin and Emanuel Buchmann of Bora-Argon 18 — both finished well on Stage 2 and moved up in the standings.