2010 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 10#Stage 2
The second stage of the 2010 Tour de France on July 5, led over 201.5 km from Brussels to Spa. On this wave stage there were three intermediate sprints and six mountain stages of the 3rd and 4th category. After giving Adam Hansen's due to fall injuries the previous day 194 of the 198 registered participants were at the start.
Race course
The driver first went in convoy through Brussels before 12:35 clock the real start was given. An eight -man breakaway group led by Sylvain Chavanel sat down after a few miles successfully and slowly built a lead of about five minutes on the peloton on. The Belgian Jurgen Roelandts won the first two sprints, while Jérôme Pineau secured the three climbs of the fourth category.
The temperatures were cooler than the day before, again and again, there was light rain. First falls, so by Sebastian Lang fell from a little dramatic. This changed after the crossing of the Côte de Werbomont, as more riders on a slippery road came to case. Especially bad it hit Mickaël Delage, who had to abandon the race. Meanwhile, the peloton came back closer to the outlier, as Team Saxo Bank, which had the yellow jersey in his ranks, made chase.
Sébastien Turgot fell out first from the leading group when it came to the Côte d' Aisomont, the first rise in the third category, followed by Matthew Lloyd. Jérôme Pineau also won this mountain classification, by which he secured the first mountain jersey. Jurgen Roelandts sat down in the subsequent departure and tried alone to the Col du Stockeu to come, but was followed by Chavanel, who overtook him and won the mountains classification. Jérôme Pineau and clean Taaramäe could fall back now. Meanwhile attacked Maxime Monfort out of the field.
On the descent, plunged in the field on a slippery road several drivers, including Francesco Gavazzi, Christian Vande Velde and Andy Schleck, who carried off a major injury on his left arm and right knee. The main draw here disintegrated into several groups, in suspended were located next to Schleck and Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong. But the first group to the leader Fabian Cancellara slowed the pace and waiting for them.
A total of seventy drivers were involved in crashes on this third day of racing. Chavanel, who was not affected by any fall could, its distance due to the slow driving of the field zoom back and won after the last climb to the Col du Rosier the stage. The reassembled closed box closed on the initiative of Cancellara a nonaggression pact and drove closed without final sprint with a now grown to almost four minutes behind the finish line. What the jury decided later, was credited in the target only Chavanel points. Thus, the French conquered not only the yellow, but the green jersey.
Criticism
The behavior of the peloton under the direction of Cancellara broke both among drivers and among sports directors from criticism.
After the group had caught up to Andy Schleck, captain of Team Saxo Bank, again, was no longer wait for more riders. Nevertheless, there were at this time, several other drivers behind the main field, including masters like Christian Vande Velde and Damiano Cunego. Some drivers who had remained despite the falls in the front group, felt due to the much slower pace to increase their chances to put the day's victory. Since the initiative of Cancellara also no sprint points were awarded for the driver behind the stage winner Sylvain Chavanel, who stayed in the front group contenders could beat on the green jersey no profit from the fact that they had kept the connection to the main draw despite the climbs. Especially Thor Hushovd showed upset because he had lost in this way many points in the battle for the green jersey after the stage.
The sporty line of the German team Milram also reacted angrily. Gerry van Gerwen said he understood the solidarity with the victims fall, but you must also think of the viewers and sponsors. Milram had seen great chances to win Gerald Cioleks at the end of Stage 2 in advance.
Sprints
- Second intermediate sprint in seny ( 112 km ) ( 281 m OP)
- Third intermediate sprint in Coo ( 177 km ) ( 249 m OP)
- Target in Spa ( km 223.5 ) (26 m O.D. )
Climbs
- Côte de France, Category 4 ( 98 km ) (244 m OP; 2.2 km à 6,2 %)
- Côte de Filot, Category 4 ( 128.5 km ) ( 297 m OP; 3.9 km à 4,5% )
- Côte de Werbomont, Category 4 ( 136 km ) ( 368 m OP; 4.5 km à 3,5 %)
- Côte d' Aisomont, Category 3 ( 161.5 km ) ( 488 m OP; 4.5 km à 5,2 %)
- Col du Stockeu, Category 3 ( 167.5 km ) ( 509 m OP; 3.0 km à 5,9 %)
- Col du Rosier, Category 3 ( 189 km ) ( 557 m OP; 6.4 km à 4,0 %)