Team Columbia masterfully controlled the front of the peloton in the final two kilometers, setting up Cavendish with the perfect set to act out his role, and he did it beautifully, accelerating form 400 km and crossing the line five meters ahead of the second place rider.
A Hard Start on a Hot Day
Stage Two, 187 km from Monaco to the French town of Brignoles, was a tough stage, opening with a Category Three climb right off the line, and three Category Four climbs to follow. The end of the stage was all downhill, with the final kilometer gently sloping down to the finishing line: a perfect set for a sprint finish.
The day was extremely hot, hitting 93 degrees F, with no breeze.
The first attack came seven minutes in, with four riders trying to break away, but they were ridden down within ten km.
Thirteen km in, Francaise des Jeux rider Jussi Veikkanen, riding in his first Tour, led a four-man breakaway which rode fast enough to open a gap. Cyril Dessel of Ag2R, Stef Clement of Rabobank, and Cofidis rider Stéphane Auge opened a gap of 5:25 at the peak of their effort.
The peloton, led by Saxo Bank, was not immediately concerned with the breakaway. Yellow-jersey-wearer Fabian Cancellara had 1:28 on Stef Clement, the best-placed rider in the breakaway, and had no reason to think he could not maintain the overall lead.
There were two crashes in the first half of the race; first, Quickstep rider JurgenVan de Waelle crashed alone. Half an hour later, Saxo Bank’s Frank Schleck and Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Igor Anton collided; both rejoined the peloton.
Just past the summit of the final climb, eight or nine riders tangled and fell. The victims included Angelo Furlan of Lampre, Gerald Ciolek of Milram, Hayden Roulstnn of Cervelo, and David Moncoutie of Cofidis. All the riders rejoined the race. Ciolek went on to join the finishing sprint and finish sixth.
With fifty km to go, the gap was still four minutes plus. The teams were waiting as long as possible to begin reeling in the break.
The Chase Begins
Finally, with 45 km to go, the peloton started to make its move. Columbia rider Mark Cavendish, generally acknowledged to be the fastest sprinter in the world, sent two riders to the front to pick up the pace.
With 34 km to go, the peloton had cut the gap in half, to 2:41. Four km later, with the peloton flying at at 56 km/hr, the gap dropped to two minutes. It was clear that the breakaway was not going to succeed.
The peloton eased up a bit, not wanting to catch the breakaway too early.
With 20 km to go, the gap was under a minute. Now the question was, which team would do the best job of setting up its sprinter?
Astana kept near the front, riding in a solid pack on the right shoulder of the peloton, not to be ready to sprint, but to protect themselves from last-minute crashes, such as the one which claimed Cervelo rider Andreas Klier with fifteen km to go. At the start of the Tour, crashes which should never happen to professionals can cut down unlucky riders, as the riders are nervous and not concentrating.
With ten km to go, Mikhail Ignatiev of Katusha made a break, overtaking the breakaway and attacking off the front. He only stayed out front for three km, before the peloton reeled him in.
Columbia Controls the Sprint
Not until the final five km does a sprint-finish race really begin. Here is when the fields bunches, when teams start organizing and trying to control the front of the peloton. First Milram, then Columbia, and Skil-Shimano started fighting for control. One after another, the leadout riders pushed themselves to the brink and fell back.
Two km out, Columbia took over. Garmin moved in behind them. There was confusion at the final bend in the road 750 meters from the end, as a Euskatel rider crashed and some riders went off the course, but up front, it was all-American, as Columbia had two riders leading Mark Cavendish. Behind, Julian Dean of Garmin led Tyler Farrar right onto Cavendish’s back wheel.
With 500 meters to go, four riders were out on their own: Team Columbia riders Mark Renshaw and Tony Martin leading Cavendish, and Garmin sprinter Tyler Farrar, letting Columbia lead him also.
Mark Cavendish put his head down, pumped his huge legs, and rocketed across the line five meters ahead of Farrar, winning the stage for himself and Team Columbia Highroad. Farrar took second. Romain Feillu of Agritubel finished third.
This was Cavendish’s fifth stage win in Tours de France Before the race Cavendish told reporters that he would consider the Tour a success if he could win one stage and finish in Paris. Many think he might win five stages on his way to the City of Light.
| Stage Two Final Results | General Classification After Stage Two | |||||
| # | Rider | Team | # | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Mark Cavendish | Columbia Highroad | 1 | Fabian Cancellara | Saxo Bank | 19:32 |
| 2 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin Slipstream | 2 | Alberto Contador | Astana | +18 |
| 3 | Romain Feillu | Agritubel | 3 | Bradley Wiggins | Garmin Slipstream | +19 |
| 4 | Thor Hushovd | Cervello | 4 | Andreas Klöden | Asatana | +22 |
| 5 | Yukiya Arashiro | Bbox Bouygues | 5 | Cadel Evans | Silenece Lotto | +23 |
| 6 | Gerald Ciolek | Milram | 6 | Levi Leipheimer | Astana | +30 |
| 7 | William Bonnet | Bbox Bouygues | 7 | Roman Kreuziger | Liquigas | +32 |
| 8 | Nicholas Roche | Ag2R Mondiale | 8 | Tony Martin | Columbia Highroad | +33 |
| 9 | Koen de Kort | Skil Shimano | 9 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas | +37 |
| 10 | Lloyd Mondory | Ag2R Mondiale | 10 | Lance Armstrong | Astana | +40 |