Frank Schleck made his move late in Stage 2 with Matteo Carrara to break away from the main field and move himself right into striking distance for the tour. Though Schleck outsprinted Carrara to the line for the stage victory, Carrara also received much reward for his hard work as he gained the overall lead for the race. Carrara and Schleck, separated by just a second, managed to build up a nearly 30 second lead over Lance Armstrong and the rest of the field. This was the day many thought Schleck would choose to make his move, and he did not disappoint his home crowd as he received roaring applause when he won the two-man sprint. A small chase group including contenders like Armstrong, Ivanov, and Luekemans managed to salvage about 20 seconds from the lead, but were unable to make the catch. A gap of about 30 seconds over Armstrong, Ivanov, and Luekemans and nearly 50 seconds back to Kloden is a recognizable margin for the two leaders, but it is far from unreachable. With just two stages remaining, the attacks will be plentiful.
There are a few hills in the middle of the stage substantial enough for a breakaway to form and perhaps get away, but it would certainly be against the best wishes of the top contenders, especially with the top 40 all still within 2 minutes of each other. Expect Carrara and his team to keep an incredibly close eye on Schleck, while still watching for riders like Armstrong and Kloden to go over the top. Other contenders like Voigt and Kirchen have fallen back essentially out of contention for the overall lead, so I wouldn't expect much attention to be paid to them. If there was one team I would select to be the busiest it would be Radioshack, as they should be constantly attacking Frank Schleck with their 3 riders in the top 10.
CLASSIFICATIONS AFTER STAGE 2
OVERALL
2. Frank Schleck -1
3. Lance Armstrong -30
4. Juan Antonio Flecha -34
5. Sergei Ivanov -34
6. Bjorn Leukemans -35
8. Andreas Kloden -50
10. Gregory Rast -51
15. Giovanni Visconti -56
MOUNTAINS
1. Jorge Martin Montenegro 18
2. Paolo Longo Borghini 14
3. Morten Knudsen 9
POINTS
1. Frank Schleck 20
2. Giovanni Visconti 20
3. Matteo Carrara 16
TEAM STANDINGS
2. Team Radioshack -46
3. Sky Pro Cycling Team -1:07
BEST YOUNG RIDER
1. Alexandre Geniez
2. Brice Feillu -23
3. Romain Zingle -26
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