Stage 2 started out cloudy and breezy this morning for the final stage in Belgium today. About 7km into the race there was a "flurry"(as described by Phil Liggett) of atacks, which resulted in 2 groups breaking away from the Peloton by about a 1 min. advantage. A 2nd group, consisting of Joly, and Finot attempted to catch the breakaway of Piil, Lang and 2 others to name a few. About 45km into the stage, earlier breakaway group had extended their lead on the Peloton to 5 min, but as the stage progressed they were slowly losing ground to the Main group which was regaining the ground quickly. Riding through the 100km mark the gap was still closing and the time was down to about 2 1/2 min, and eventually about 20km later the Peloton which at the time was being led by the USPS team had swallowed the whole hearted attempt at a breakaway.
Beginning the ride into town it was a battle for position, Thor Hushovd moving very swiftly towards the front of the Fassa Bortolo, Petacchi centered lead. Coming down to the 2km to go mark Cancellara leading, and setting up Alessandro Petacchi for the win, but the as the sprint progresses they get shuffled back as Hushovd moves up, trying for a 3rd place finish to take the yellow jersey. As the group comes around the final turn there is a crash, a Cofidis and CSC rider go down, and Robby McEwen takes advantae of the situation and pulls ahead of Hushovd and gets to the line first, winning the stage with a time of 4:18.39
In todays stage there was much teamwork seen throughout the day, especially within the major sponsored teams, USPS,Cofidis, CSC, Telekom, and others protecting their star riders from any trouble. On another interesting note concerning the problems with Brad McGee, plagued with hip and back pain since before the tour, was riding today with a large back brace, but nonetheless stuck with the Peloton for the entire day. Hopefully we can see a speedy recovery for the Australian.
The Armstrong Update: Today was just another ride for the 5 time champ and the USPS team. No great strategy was need ed and he has only dropped to 4th in the GC down by only 18sec.
*This one was lacking a bit...im just not all here today.
Overall Leader
Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crèdit Agricole
Teams Classification
1. US Postal @ 27:18:26
2. Team CSC @ 00:06
3. Phonak @ 00:11
Points Classification
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cr?t Agricole 68 pts
2. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo 65 pts
3. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) AG2R 55 pts
Mountains Classification
1. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep 16 pts
2. Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis 14 pts
3. Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 4 pts
Young Rider Classification
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo @ 9:05:50
2. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Fdjeux.com @ 00:26
3. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep @ 00:27
Overall Results (after Stage 2)
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole @ 9:05:42
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo 0:08
3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo 0:17
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal 0:18
5 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 0:23
6 José I:Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) IIlles Balears-Banesto 0:24
7 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak 0:27
8 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0:28
9 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
10 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal
Waterloo-Wasquehal
Date: July 06
Distance: 121.1mi/195km
Type of stage: Road, flat to rolling
Principal difficulties: Few, other than negotiating roundabouts with 190 or so of your closest friends at 25mph.
What to Watch For: Finally, a sprinter's stage. The race begins to move out of the mountainous Ardennes region and the sprinters will show their form. Expect a fast pace to discourage breaks.
Principal Protagonists: With nine stage wins at this year's Giro d'Italia, Fassa Bortolo sprinter Alessandro Petacchi will be looking to put a similar stamp of dominance on the Tour. Given that he's rarely finished the race, his best chances come early. Look for Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady, Baden Cooke and surprising Thor Hushovd to challenge.
How this Stage Affects the Race: Hopefully not at all. Barring crashes, the favorites should all stay tucked safely away as the sprinters teams tow the field through another near-200km day.
Local Flavor: Yes, it's THAT Waterloo, where Napoleon's army was finally defeated.
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