Jakobsen, making his Tour debut less than two years after suffering life-threatening injuries in a crash at the Tour of Poland, delivered Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's second stage win in as many days as he beat Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen to the line.

The 25-year-old Dutchman, perhaps been under added pressure to deliver a stage win given he was selected for this Tour ahead of Mark Cavendish, took the first opportunity that came his way.

The peloton crossed the line in pieces after a crash blocked the road with 2.5km to go, but as it came so late in the 202.5km stage from Roskilde, none of the riders lost any time.

Almost every rider recorded the same time including all the Australians in the race, the highest placed of which was Caleb Ewan in 13th.

Michael Matthews is the best-placed Aussie in overall classification. He is 16th, 26 seconds adrift of new leader Van Aert.

The Belgian's second place was enough to take the yellow jersey from compatriot Yves Lampaert as he picked up six bonus seconds, wiping out his five-second deficit from Friday's opening time trial in Copenhagen.

Lampaert had been involved in a crash on the approach to the Great Belt Bridge, the 18km long structure which dominated the finale of this stage, but made it back into the pack to play his part in Jakobsen's lead-out train.

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar was held up by the late crash but could cruise to the line, and the Slovenian sits eight seconds off yellow.

Jakobsen's victory caps a remarkable comeback after he was left in an induced coma having suffered a catalogue of injuries including brain trauma in a high-speed crash in August 2020.

"Today was 'incroyable' (incredible) as we would say in French," he said. "For me it's been a long process, step by step, a lot of people have helped me along the way.

"This is to pay them back and to see it was not for nothing. I'm happy I still enjoy riding the bike and racing the bike and I'm lucky I can still win.

"It's an amazing day and I'd like to thank all the people who helped me to get here."

Stage three on Sunday is again for sprinters. It starts from Vejle on the Jutland Peninsula and ends in Sonderborg in southern Denmark after 182 kilometers of flats. The race ends on July 24 in Paris.

Elsewhwere Alejandro Valverde, winner of the 2018 world road championship and the 2009 Spanish Vuelta, will spend a night under observation in hospital after he and another cyclist were hit by a car on Saturday while training in southern Spain.

The Movistar team said that the 42-year-old Valverde did not "have any fractures or serious injuries" after the incident in Murcia on Saturday. The other cyclist -- who has not been named -- was well, the team said.

Spanish media said that the driver of the car fled the scene.

Australian Associated Press