Today's second stage of the Tour de France was reminiscent of the Giro d'Italia just two months ago, where the combination of narrow roads and a nervous peloton wreaked havoc during the race. This time the weather joined in to make the descent of the Col de Stockeu treacherous, and a massive crash claimed several victims on the roads of Belgium.
The route took the riders 201 kilometers from Brussels to Spa, heading through the Ardennes using roads visited by the spring Classics. It's the very narrow roads that, like today, often times pose problems to a peloton full of Grand Tour riders. As in the Italian Tour, riders have questioned the organizers decision to include drama they feel is at the expense of rider safety.
"In the first week everybody’s fresh, everybody’s nervous, there are always crashes," RadioShack's Levi Leipheimer said after the stage. "You need to stay in the front, and when they send us on courses like this, it makes it worse. I don’t know if that’s what they want to see...to see us bleeding, but it makes for a stressful race. It’s pure survival."
Many of the riders are unfamiliar with racing on courses like today's route, and the formula for a race like the Tour de France can sometimes mean that the bunch that passes through is much bigger than it might be during a race in the spring. One reason for that difference is because the riders must finish within a time limit to continue on in the next day's stage, and riding in the shelter of the peloton is, in most cases, the best way to assure a safe arrival.
RadioShack's three leaders Leipheimer, Andreas Kloden and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong all hit the deck, but were able to finish the stage with only minor scrapes. Saxo Bank's Andy and Frank Schleck also ended up on the ground, and were forced to chase the peloton as teammate Fabian Cancellara worked to neutralize the race ahead. The Swiss rider was eventually able to slow things down with his team leaders rejoining the group, but it cost him his yellow jersey. Garmin-Transitions' Christian Vande Velde wasn't so lucky, with the American losing close to 10 minutes by the time he reached the finish line in Spa, all but ending his quest for a high placing in the overall.
While Vande Velde was the worst off of the overall contenders, it had to be Norwegian Thor Hushovd who got the short end of the stick for the sprinters. His Cervélo TestTeam worked to bring the breakaway back to create an opportunity for him to increase his lead in the green jersey competition, but with Cancellara neutralizing the stage over the finish line and later the race jury, Hushovd's possible advantage was also nullified. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions), who is expected to be a factor for green, came across the line with a bandaged left arm, and his team will hope the injury is superficial or they will have lost two leaders on the day.
The French revolution for 2010 continued when Quick Step's Sylvain Chavanel secured victory on the stage as the lone survivor of the day's long breakaway. He was able to help compatriot and teammate Jerome Pineau into the polka dot jersey of best climber along the way, giving the Belgian team a day to celebrate. Chavanel will look to ride well on the cobblestones tomorrow to honor his hard-earned maillot jaune on familiar ground. The last time he visited the area he netted a fractured skull that threatened his very start in his home Tour, but after today's success it will be but a distant memory.