Stage 2 of the Tour from Brussels to Spa became a race between two groups fairly rapidly, after only 10 km of the 201 km route. The escape was orchestrated by Sylvain Chavanel, a Frenchman riding for the Belgian team, Quickstep (QST). More miraculous was that Chavanel got seriously injured in the same Belgian Ardennes region only in April, fracturing his skull, enduring through an induced coma to recover in time to shatter the opposition in today’s cold and wet conditions.
The escapees eventually numbered eight riders, as Chavanel was joined by his team mate Pineau, Burghardt (BMC), Lloyd and Roelandts (OLO), Gavazzi (LAM), Taaramae (COF) and Turgot (BTL). Pineau attacked hard on the first trio of the six climbs to claim 3 points in each and finished the day with his prize cycling shirt, the King of the Mountains Red and White Polka Dot Jersey.
The rain and undulating terrain made the route treacherous and there were several crashes; the smart riders were shuffling their positions at the front of the pack, knowing that any huge crash, as happened in Stage 1, could drop them serious amounts of time in the context of the whole competition. One crash led to the unfortunate early retirement from the Tour of Delage, who suffered cuts to his face. Also involved were Dean and Karpets, both of whom managed to remount and continue racing, despite inevitable cuts and bruises.
(Photo of Sylvain Chavanel, by Vlaam. Reproduced under Creative Commons Licence.)
As the peloton had absorbed all but three of the breakout riders, Gavazzi made a break hoping to join the escapees, but hit wet mud on the road and slid. He was then hit first by the pursuing camera bike, followed by several of the front runners in the peloton in a scene of chaos that seriously delayed Contador and Armstrong, and caused accidents for Andy and Frank Schleck. By this stage, Chavanel could taste victory, and was spurred on by the thought of wearing the coveted Yellow Jersey tomorrow as the Tour enters his homeland, France. The other riders were split by the crash on the Stockeu descent into three chasing groups.
In a disappointing conclusion, the sprint was neutralised, with Cancellara the main architect of a mass photo finish in protest about the dangerous racing conditions. Previously he had persuaded his leading chase group to slow to allow the other pelotons to regroup. And so the miraculous Chavanel ended the stage 3 min 56 sec ahead of the rest of the peloton, who were all awarded the same finishing time, many having lost the chance to pick up extra sprint points towards the Green Jersey at the end.
This leaves the standings looking like this:
1. Chavanel (QST)
2. Cancellara (SAX)
3. Martin (THR)
4. Millar (GRM)
5. Armstrong (RSH)
6. Thomas (SKY)
7. Contador (AST)
8. Leipheimer (RSH)
9. Boasson Hagen (SKY)
10. Gerdemann (MRM)
1. Chavanel
2. Bouet
3. Wegmann
4. McEwen
5. Knees
6. Roelandts
7. Hushovd
8. Gerdemann
9. Ladagnous
10. Eisel
That means Chavanel wears the Yellow Jersey for Stage 3 tomorrow; Petacchi wears the Green Jersey and Pineau the Polka Dot Jersey. Tony Martin leads the Youth competition in White and the Quick Step Team are the ones to beat at this stage, after Chavanel’s heroics today.
Stage 3 will see several sections with cobbled road surfaces, and if the weather reamins wet and dreary, it could be another nightmare for some.
