Sylvain Chavanel Wins Tour de France Second Stage
The second stage of the Tour de France was troubled with wet weather that caused a few more crashes. However, not all the cyclists were involved, which was good for Sylvain Chavanel, who seized the race for the lead in the tournament. This is Chavanel’s second stage win for the tour in his career, while the rest of his group finished together about 4 minutes behind to avoid more crashes.
Fabian Cancellara had been leading the standings, but he was forced to give up keeping the yellow jersey after being involved in a crash with teammate Andy Schleck, who tumbled to the tarmac on the penultimate decent and suffered injuries that required medical care to see if he could continue. Schleck was thought to be the best challenger against Alberto Contador, who had a hard day as well, having to change bikes with 20km left. However, he finished with his general classification rivals thanks to his team.
Lance Armstrong also suffered the setback of being involved in the crash. The 7-time champion was in fourth place in the overall standings going into the second stage, but he is now fifth overall after being unseated, along with Bradley Wiggins and Michael Barry. Christian Vande Velde was also in a crash.
Today’s third stage will feature four cobblestone sections - 13.2km worth - which are sure to cause even more trouble for the Tour de France cyclists. The race will be from Wanze to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, a 213km course. Here is a list of the standings going into the stage:
1. Sylvain Chavanel - 10:01:25
2. Fabian Cancellara - +2:57
3. Tony Martin - +3:07
4. David Millar - +3:17
5. Lance Armstrong - +3:19
6. Geraint Thomas - +3:20
7. Alberto Contador - +3:24
8. Levi Leipheimer - +3:25
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen - +3:29
10. Linus Gerdemann - +3:32