Stage Two - In Brief

Five climbs: Col des Pandours (cat-3 at 35.5km), Col de Valsberg (cat-3, 50.0km), Cote de Kedange-sur-Canner (cat-4, 187.5km), Cote de Kanfen (cat-4, 212.5km) & Cote de Volmerange-les-Mines (cat-4, 215.0km). _ Intermediate sprints: Marimont-les-Benestroff (at 107.0km), Holling (169.5km) & Yutz (198.5km). _ Weather conditions at the start: 26 degrees Celsius in the air; 37 degrees at road level. _ Retirement: Di Luca (LIQ) did not sign on (there were 175 riders at the start). _ _ The Progress Report... _ Hernandez & De la Fuentes Go On The Attack… _ As soon as the flag fell to signal the official start of the stage at 11.48am, two Spanish riders went on the attack. De la Fuente (SDV) and Hernandez (EUS) must not have been considered a threat and they peloton allowed them to build a huge advantage. At 7km, the pair led by 2’35”; at 12km 3’20”; at 25km 9’15…! The first hour was one of the slowest in years with an average speed of just 36.9km/h. _ The maximum gain of the pair was 11’20” when the peloton was at the 31km mark; that’s when the Discovery Channel team came to the front of the main pack. Almost immediately the advantage began to drop. Hernandez crested the first summit ahead of De la Fuente; Wegmann (GST) led the peloton over the Col des Pandours 10’35” later. At the second climb, De la Fuente fought to claim the points but Hernandez added four more points to his tally. The average for the 2nd hour was 40.5km/h. _ _ Setting Up A Sprint… _ Riders from Davitamon-Lotto and Quickstep joined Discovery at the head of the peloton after about 75km of racing. The advantage of the leading duo dropped to 8’25” at 87km. Just before the first intermediate sprint Lampre riders picked up the tempo but were overtaken by Boonen (QSI), Hushovd (C.A) and McEwen (DVL) who were in the hunt for green jersey points and time bonuses. Boonen claimed third place in Marimont-les-Benestroff., 7’30” behind De la Fuente and Hernandez. The average speed for the 3rd hour was 40.6km/h. The peloton was led by Quickstep, Davitamon-Lotto and Credit Agricole riders after the intermediate sprint and the advantage of the two escapees slowly dwindled: 6’50” at 138km, and just 3’00” at the 2nd intermediate sprint (169.5km). The Quickstep team dominated the peloton on the approach to the Holling sprint but Hushovd marked Boonen and, quite simply, was faster in the final 50m. The Norwegian claimed the two-second bonus and moved back ahead of Hincapie in the general classification. The peloton was just 3’00” behind the two escapees at Holling. _ _ De la Fuente’s Solo Bid _ On the approach to the third climb, De la Fuente set the tempo and sprinted for points. The surge marked the end of Hernandez’s bid for stage honors; he shook his head and conceded that he couldn’t maintain his place in the escape he started. He was caught 1km before the 3rd intermediate sprint. Boonen led Hushovd and O’Grady (CSC) over the line to claim 4pts/4” in Yutz. De la Fuente was 1’50” ahead with 30km to go; 1’15” with 20km to go… he was caught by Wegmann on the final climb, but earned the reward of the lead in the climbing classification. The rider in the polka-dot jersey pushed on with a solo effort and, with 10km to go led the peloton by 17”. He was caught with 8km to go. Kessler launched a bold bid for glory with 6km to go and led by as much as 12” before being caught just 50m before the line. The usual sprint candidates battled it out for stage honours while, behind them, was chaos caused by a crash just before the ‘flamme rouge’. McEwen (DVL) launched his sprint down the right side of the road and crossed the line ahead of Boonen and Hushovd. The Australian will wear the green jersey in stage three. Hushovd’s third place is enough to put him back in the overall lead of the Tour de France. He will be back in yellow for stage three.