Key moments

16:48 - Top 5

1. John Degenkolb

2. Samuel Dumoulin

3. Sébastien Hinault

4. Paul Martens

5. Joaquim Rodriguez

16:46 - Degenkolb wins

John Degenkolb (HTC) wins ahead of Dumoulin and Hinault.

16:46 - Voeckler goes

As planned, Voeckler is the first in action in the final climb.

16:44 - Flat tyre for VDB

Van den Broeck has a flat tyre in the last three kilometres.

16:43 - Boasson Hagen still behind

Boasson Hagen remains off the back after his mechanical.

16:38 - 3km to go

The battle for positioning is going on with 3km to go.

16:35 - Wiggins and Evans back in the first group

Juan Antonio Flecha and Amaël Moinard close the gap between the first two groups. Wiggins and Evans are back with the favourites but Boasson Hagen is at the back after a mechanical and Thibaut Pinot is behind as well.

16:34 - 10km to go

With 10km to go, the split is 16 seconds. Edvald Boasson Hagen has stopped because of a mechanical.

16:32 - Flat tyre for LL Sanchez

Luis Leon Sanchez has had a flat tyre and is ejected from the front group.

16:30 - Wiggins and Evans still chasing

Wiggins, Evans and their respective teams Sky and BMC are still chasing to try and come across to the first part of the bunch. They’re at 20 seconds.

16:28 - No more breakaway

Tjallingii gets caught by the first part of the bunch after Van de Walle and Feillu with 14km to go.

16:25 - Tjallingii insists

Tjallingii insists and goes by himself with 16km to go but the first part of the peloton is close. The bunch is now divided in three parts.

16:23 - 12 seconds difference

There are 12 seconds difference between the two groups. The leading has only one minute advantage left with 19km to go.

16:21 - Sky at the back, Evans too

Team Sky is in the second part of the bunch. Wiggins and Boasson Hagen lead this group, trying to come across. Evans is also in this second group.

16:20 - Split in the bunch

With 22km to go, the bunch goes faster and faster. Paris-Roubaix winner Johan van Summeren is riding hard for Tyler Farrar and the bunch is split in two pieces.

16:09 - Dupont supports Roche

Hubert Dupont, who finished 12th of the Tour of Italy for Ag2r-La Mondiale last week, lives in Lyon, two kilometers away from the stage finish at the boulevard de la Croix-Rousse. He paid a visit to letour.fr in the finishing area and said: “Three or four riders are true specialists for this end of stage: Boasson Hagen, Dumoulin, Voeckler… Watch out for Samuel Dumoulin in particular! With Mickaël Buffaz, they have ridden the finale many times. I also hope for my team-mates Nicolas Roche and Sébastien Hinault to do well. For Nico, it will not only be a question of not losing time in an eventual split in the bunch: he can also deliver a good result in such an explosive finale!”

16:00 - Garmin-Cervélo also at the front

Garmin-Cervélo really wants to get a bunch sprint finish for Tyler Farrar: domestiques Daniel Lloyd and Ramunas Navardauskas are now pacing the peloton with the Cofidis team.

15:54 - Cofidis at work

The Cofidis team has moved up to the front of the bunch. It confirms their intention to pave the way for an attempt to a stage win by Samuel Dumoulin.

15:51 - KOM 3 result

Result of the king of the mountain price at the côte de Pérouges, km 134.5:

1. Brice Feillu, 3 points

2. Jurgen Van de Walle, 2 points

3. Maarten Tjallingi, 1 point

15:46 - Farrar will try and win today

Tyler Farrar is a potential winner for today’s stage in Lyon. The American sprinter has resumed racing at the Dauphiné on Sunday after leaving the Tour of Italy following the procession of stage 4 in memory of his tragically deceased best friend Wouter Weylandt. “Tyler is going well”, Garmin-Cervélo’s directeur sportif Lionel Marie told letour.fr. “We’ll try and set him up for the sprint today, even if it’s a difficult finish. The false flat of the last 150 meters suit him more than the kilometer uphill that precedes it. If it works, it’s great, if it doesn’t, it’s not a big deal, but we’ll give it a try.”

15:40 - 43.1km in the third hour

43.1 kilometres have been covered in the third hour of racing. It makes an average speed of 42.8km/h so far.

15:33 - Voeckler back in the bunch

French champion Thomas Voeckler is back in the bunch after a bike change.

15:32 - 4.30 at km 117

The time difference between the leading trio and the bunch is 4.30 at km 117.

15:19 - FDJ at the front, Madiot explains

The team FDJ is showing up in the first positions of the peloton with the Astana team of race leader Alexandre Vinokourov. FDJ team manager Marc Madiot explains to letour.fr: “I have asked my riders to ride more at the front. We have a leader [Thibaut Pinot], we ride for him and that’s at the front. I expect a fast finale and a very long sprint. I think it’s too late for the breakaway to succeed now. But it has become windy now. I remember that it’s often windy near Lyon. We expected 20km/h of wind but it’s more than that now and it’s three-quarter favorable for the riders. I predict an attack by riders like Thomas Voeckler at the bottom of the final climb, then it should be up to sprinters like [Edvald] Boasson Hagen and [John] Degenkolb… or William Bonnet!” Bonnet rides for FDJ…

15:15 - Van de Walle has been second before

None of the three breakaway riders has won a stage of the Dauphiné before but Jurgen Van de Walle has come close on two occasions: he was second to Dimitry Fofonov in Grenoble in 2008 and second to Pierrick Fedrigo in Briançon in 2009.

15:14 - Gap: 3.50

Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) have 3.50 of advantage at Charette, km 102.

15:13 - Dumoulin and Buffaz have saved energy...

Yesterday’s stage results are indicative of some riders’ intention for today: Mickaël Buffaz and Samuel Dumoulin, the two local riders from Lyon who are also team-mates at Cofidis, have taken the last two positions at Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, meaning that they saved their legs as much as they could for today.

15:01 - Hinault has the experience of 2000

Sébastien Hinault is the only rider who has the experience of sprinting at the côte de la Croix-Rousse in Lyon. The Breton rider finished sixth of the similar stage at the 2000 Dauphiné and third of the bunch sprint behind breakaway riders Frédéric Guesdon and Fabrice Gougot. He took the first polka dot jersey of the Dauphiné as he sprinted in the climb during the prologue of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. At 37, he remains ambitious: “I target a stage win at the Dauphiné”, he told Ouest-France. “Two stages suit my characteristics, one in particular, in Lyon, and Thursday’s stage to Mâcon as well. This week is crucial for my participation to the Tour de France. I really want to do it this year. There are many stages in Brittany and I was very disappointed to miss out on the 2008 Tour de France starting from Brest. I have to show that I still know how to do good job as a domestique and road captain.” From the bunch of the 2000 Dauphiné, two other riders are also in the bunch today: Haimar Zubeldia (RadioShack) and David Moncoutié (Cofidis).

14:58 - 3.35 advantage for the leading trio

Time gap at the top of the côte du château de Saint-Julien, km 91: 3.35.

 

14:56 - KOM 2 result

Result of the king of the mountain price at the top of the côte du château de Saint-Julien, km 91:

1. Brice Feillu, 3 points

2. Jurgen Van de Walle, 2 points

3. Maarten Tjallingii, 1 point

14:48 - Time gap: 3.15

Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) have an advantage of 3.15 at km 89.

14:37 - 43.5km in the second hour

The breakaway riders have covered 43.5 kilometres in the second hour. It makes an average speed of 42.7km/h. At Crémieu, km 85.5, it slightly rains on the course.

14:13 - McGee tips Boasson Hagen

One of the eighteen stage winners of the Dauphiné in Lyon, Australia’s Bradley McGee is busy at the race again but in the role of directeur sportif for Saxo Bank-SunGard. The winner of the 2002 prologue at the Parc de la Tête d’Or gave a prediction to letour.fr from his team car: “I believe that Team Sky will bring the breakaway back for Edvald Boasson Hagen to win the stage”, McGee said. “From what I hear, the finale is perfect for him.”

13:57 - Dumoulin explains the finale

In today’s daily newspaper Le Progrès, Samuel Dumoulin describes the stage’s finale made of a 1.4-km climb: “We’ll arrive quickly from the river’s shores. It’ll be crucial to be well positioned at the bottom of the climb. When I went to reconnoitre the route at training with my team-mate Mickaël Buffaz [who is also from Lyon], we rode at 25km/h, but it’ll be between 30 and 35km/h on a big chain ring, while racing today. The appropriate gear will be 53x16, 17 or 18, and for sprinting for the win, it’ll be 53x15, 14 or even 13. It looks pretty much like the climb of Montjuich in Barcelona [where Dumoulin won a stage of the 2010 Tour of Catalunya) or the uphill finish of Saint-Galmier [at the 2006 Dauphiné, won by Philippe Gilbert ahead of Dumoulin]. On that course, I’m not afraid of Tyler Farrar or the HTC rider [John Degenkolb], I’m not sure if they can do well on such a climb, but French riders like [Pierrick] Fedrigo, [Thomas] Voeckler, [Jonathan] Hivert and Sébastien Hinault are also dangerous rivals for the stage win. The list is long…”

13:47 - 4.45 at Gare de l’Est

The time gap is 4.45 at Gare de l’Est, km 47.

13:46 - 41.9km in the first hour

41.9 kilometres have been covered in the first hour by the three breakaway riders: Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank).

13:43 - Four minutes lead

Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) have four minutes lead at km 36, where the rain is pouring again and some riders like David Moncoutié (Cofidis) and Pierre Rolland (Europcar) have been noticed in difficulty at the back of the bunch.

13:29 - Romain Feillu comments his brother’s breakaway

In the Feillu family, the winner is more often Romain than Brice. The eldest claimed the fourth and last stage of the Tour du Luxemburg on Sunday. Contacted by letour.fr at his mobil-home in Fréjus in south of France, Romain was happy to learn that his brother was in the breakaway during stage 2 of the Dauphiné. "He has trained well", Romain said. "I didn’t speak with him last night but my father did, so I know that he was feeling well in yesterday’s stage but he put himself in the red at the bottom of the final climb. Today is probably not the best course for him but the breakaway might work today. The final climb in Lyon is maybe not hard enough for him to drop Van de Walle and Tjallingii but it’s good to hear that he’s at the front."

13:25 - Still raining

The rain is less intense but still present on the route. Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) have an advantage of 3.05 at km 26. The turquoise jerseys of the Astana team are noticed at the head of the peloton.

13:17 - Roche talks to letour.fr

Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) is 6th at 17 seconds of Alexandre Vinokourov on GC. The Irishman spoke to letour.fr this morning prior to starting stage 2 in Voiron: “It would be a lie to say that I felt at my ease yesterday but that was the stage that suited me the most of the whole week. I was far from having the legs for winning but I was up there. As time trialling is my weak point, I came to the Dauphiné to prepare for the Grenoble stage that will be the same at the Tour de France. I didn’t come with other ambitions but playing for the win the five stages finishing at a summit, it means going for GC as well.” Interestingly, Roche counts today’s stage finish as a mountainous one, with the côte de la Croix-Rousse as a conclusion.

13:10 - KOM result

Result of the king of the mountain price at Miribel-Les Echelles, km 21:

1. Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), 3 points

2. Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek), 2 points

3. Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank), 1 point

Peloton at 2.55.

13:10 - 2.15 at km 17

Time gap at km 17: 2.15.

13:08 - 1.35 the gap

In the ascent of the côte de Miribel-Les Echelles, the peloton is 1.35 behind Van de Walle, Tjallingi and Feillu.

13:05 - Same stage finish as in 2000

For the nineteenth time, a stage of the Dauphiné will end up in France’s second largest city Lyon. But the spectacular finish at the top of the côte de la Croix-Rousse has been done only once before, with a stage victory of Frédéric Guesdon who preceded local rider Fabrice Gougot in 2000. The winner of Paris-Roubaix (1997) and Paris-Tours (2006) is not competing in the Dauphiné.

13:02 - Dumoulin, the man to watch

The man to watch today is Samuel Dumoulin: he hails from Lyon and loves this kind of uphill finish with hairpins. His team Cofidis is fully concentrated for making him a winner at home.

13:01 - Climbs of the day:

   km 21: côte de Miribel-Les Echelles, cat. 4 (4.4km at 4.3%)
- km 91: côte du château de Saint-Julien, cat. 4 (2.8km at 5%)
- km 134.5: côte de Pérouges, cat. 4 (1.6km at 4.4%)
- km 179: côte de la Croix-Rousse, cat. 4 (1.4km at 4.8%)

13:00 - Three riders on the move

Three riders attack at km 10: Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) and Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek).

12:54 - Roy is the first attacker

Jérémy Roy (FDJ) is the first attacker of the day at km 4. He gets 8 seconds lead but the peloton catches him quickly. The speed of the bunch is extremely high.

12:50 - Vino in yellow, Cadel in green, etc.

The leaders’ jersey wearers for today are:
- Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) is in yellow-blue, as he leads the overall classification with 5 sec. advantage over the winner of the stage 1 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto), 7 sec. over Cadel Evans (BMC) and 11 sec. over Bradley Wiggins (Sky).
- Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) has the polka dot jersey, as he leads the king of the mountains classification since he scored ten points at the uphill finish of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse yesterday. Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) is equal on points with ten as well, but the race regulations put the Belgian ahead of the Colombian because of the number of time he passed in first position at the summit of the highest category: Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse was a second category climb at the difference of the three climbs (cat. 4 and cat. 3) where Duque was first. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) follows with nine points.
- Cadel Evans (BMC) wears the green jersey, as he is third in the points classification with 24 points, behind Vinokourov (30) and Van den Broeck (25) who are already busy with the yellow-blue and the polka dot jersey respectively.
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) is in white, as he is the best young rider, in fourth place on GC. Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) follows, only 11 seconds down on the Norwegian.

12:48 - The race is on

The start proper has been given at 12.44 to 175 riders, by a temperature of 15.5°C and under the rain.

12:45 - Dauphiné history in Voiron

The starting town of Voiron, located at the bottom of the Chartreuse where stage 1 had a spectacular finish yesterday, hasn’t hosted the Criterium du Dauphiné since 1982. 29 years ago, it was a stage finish with the victory of Frenchman René Bittinger. Voiron was also on the map of the tenth edition of the Dauphiné in 1956 with a stage winner who was no less than world champion Stan Ockers.

12:33 - Pouring rain at the start

The riders are cruising in the neutral zone. Weather conditions are pretty bad with a pouring rain in Voiron.

12:31 - Stage 2 starting soon

Welcome to the live coverage of stage 2 from Voiron to Lyon. It’s going to be another spectacular one with an uphill finish in town at the top of the 1.4-km long côte de la Croix-Rousse. Stay tuned!

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