Second place and two jerseys at Tour de Normandie's second stage

During the first stage of the Tour de Normandie, the strong wind played an important role. After the last climb of the day and when the race approached the deep final, the bunch went all out and created echelons. In this important period, both Jan Maas and Alexander Krieger had punctures and were logically not able to come back to the front anymore which had a negative influence on the GC ambitions. However, the Tour de Normandie continued today and the Leopard riders showed real dedication to give it their all again. Szymon Rekita was part of the break of the day and was really active all day long. In the end all members of the front group were brought back in the final 10 kilometers of the stage. In the pack, Alexander Krieger cranked his gears and wanted to obtain a top result in the bunch sprint in Forges-les-Eaux. In this sprint, the 27-year-old was only beaten by Italian Alberto Dainese as Krieger crossed the line in second place. In the GC, Szymon Rekita now finds himself back in a very promising 6th position, being only twelve seconds down to the race leader. Rekita is also leader in the rushes and combined classification.

Szymon Rekita: "Right from the start, I was trying many times to be in the breakaway, as this was my plan for today. Once we had a good lead, we worked well together, but in the end the peloton was just too strong. I am now in the top ten of the general classification, and it will be very nice if I can keep this position. We will see what will happen in the next days."

Alexander Krieger: "There was a fast start today and for us it was good that Szymon was part of it. The breakaway was strong and they almost made it to the finish. It was a really hectic final, like always at the Tour de Normandie. In the end, I didn't have my best day, but I felt strong and it's nice to see that I am still able to perform on those days as well. When I started the sprint I was in a good position already, but Dainese was just stronger today. All in all, I am happy with second place. We keep looking forward and we see what the rest of the week brings."

GC Tour de Normandie (UCI 2.2) - After two stages
6. Szymon Rekita (POL) + 0'12"
24. Gaëtan Pons (LUX) + 0'16"
71. Jack Burke (CAN) + 0'16"
94. Alexander Krieger (GER) + 0'32"
119. Mario Spengler (SUI) + 3'46"
124. Jan Maas (NED) + 4'29"