Team Astana had a relatively easy and quiet day, but it was a fast day for the peleton. Saxo Bank had to control the entire peloton and bring back the break away. The day was scorching hot the Tour is in July and it’s always this way, in the first week.
Lance Armstrong commented on the stage, saying ” The plan today was to stay out of trouble and get into the rhythm of the race. The yellow jersey after Montpellier will be possible but Saxo has an advantage and we know they are strong.” He continued, “They had to do some work today plus more tomorrow so that may or may not affect their performance. They will be hard to beat. The ones to look at will be us, Saxo, Garmin and Columbia.”
Lance’s return to the Tour is going according to plan although far from an easy task. “This is a difficult race to do as the first race after the Giro. The Suisse and Dauphine would have been better (preparation) for the prologue but riding the Giro will help in the last week,” he said. The Tour continues on Monday with stage 3 from Marseille to La Grande-Motte at 196km/122mi before Tuesday’s exciting team time trial in Montpellier.
Top Ten Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 4:30:02
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
3 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
6 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
7 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano
10 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
