UAE Team Emirates-XRG retains Tour de Suisse lead

GENEVA: Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG retained the overall lead of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG retains Tour de Suisse lead after finishing eighth on stage 2 of the race. The Slovenian continued to wear the yellow jersey as race leader after crossing the line four seconds behind stage winner Romain Grégoire of Groupama-FDJ United, who clocked 3:26:25. The stage featured strong competition on the Fanghi (3.5km at 7 percent) and Via Consiglio Mezzano (1.4km at 8.9 percent) climbs, with Grégoire proving the strongest rider out front. Meanwhile, Pogačar confidently followed the attacks behind and maintained his position among the chasers to strengthen his grip on the general classification lead. Speaking after the stage, Pogačar said the race had been fast and demanding from the outset, praising the efforts of his teammates and noting that the breakaway group was exceptionally strong and managed to maintain a comfortable advantage all the way to the finish. By the end of stage 2, Pogačar led the general classification with a total time of 6:55:06, holding a lead of 2:50 over Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost. Andrea Bagioli of Lidl-Trek was third, 3:07 behind the race leader. UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Brandon McNulty ranked seventh overall, 4:44 behind Pogačar, while teammate Jhonatan Narváez was tenth, trailing by 5:12.