Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) made up for the disappointment of the day before, when the peloton just failed to catch the breakaway before the finish, by winning the second stage of the Tour of the Mediterranean between Saint Cannat and Rousset. The French sprinter beat Davide Appollonio (Team Sky) and Danilo Napolitano (Acqua & Sapone) into second and third at the end of the 125km stage.
The stage was largely controlled by the Europcar of race leader, French champion Thomas Voekler, the winner of stage 1. The only substantial breakaway came when Anthony Colin (Roubaix-Lille Metropole) escaped alone after 30km; the 25-year-old Frenchman managed to get a maximum lead of 3 minutes, but he was always kept in check by Europcar and was eventually caught with 17km to go.
With the final kilometres almost completely flat no other riders were able to get away and Feillu proved the strongest in the slightly uphill sprint.
After the news about Riccardo Riccò’s apparent autogolous blood transfusion, Feillu’s securing the Dutch team’s first victory of the season is a boost to Vacansoleil-DCM morale.
“I am happy we took the first win,” said director Michel Cornelisse. “This morning Romain and I went to see the sprint and this makes the win even more special.”
The 10 seconds bonus on the line for Feillu lifts him up to second in the overall classification, just 3 seconds behind Voeckler.
Result stage 2
1. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM
2. Davide Appollonio (Ita) Team Sky
3. Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
4. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ
5. Benjamin Giraud (Fra) La Pomme Marseille
6. Justin Jules (Fra) La Pomme Marseille
7. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis
8. Fabien Bacquet (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93
9. Bert De Backer (Ned) Skil-Shimano
10. Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank-Sungard
Standings after stage 2
1. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Europcar
2. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM @ 3s
3. Laurent Mangel (Fra) Saur-Sojasun @ 4s
4. Thomas Vaubourzeix (Fra) La Pomme Marseille @ 6s
5. Davise Appollonio (Ita) Team Sky @ 7s