Sylvain Chavanel won just about everything on Tuesday afternoon except a first aid kit. He left that to the rest of the field. Chavanel broke away early and methodically lost the rest of the breakaway to take the stage while the riders behind him crashed and fell like they were riding on soap. The chaos behind him caused Chavanel to build up a 4 minute lead over the main field, well more than enough to also give him the yellow jersey. As if it were icing on the cake, Chavanel also took over the points lead because of the peloton protest as they crossed the finishing line. While it may have been the highlight day of Chavanel's career, he was the only one smiling at the end of the day. Wicked weather conditions made the roads on the way to Spa very slick and continued the disturbing trend of way too many crashes. (referring to the series of late incidents that plagued stage 1 as well) Many of the big names in the field took a spill at least once, and some even more than that. While favorites like Lance and Contador simply got up and chased their way back to the peloton, some other big names POSSIBLY may not have been so lucky (no official word yet on their conditions). Top 3 sprinter Tyler Farrar probably had the most wicked crash of the day, and his pain was visable as he tried to recover.
Farrar finished the stage, but about 20 minutes out. Race favorite Andy Schleck also took a very dangerous fall right in the middle of the peloton. While riders scrambled everywhere around him, Schleck was in obvious pain clutching one arm as he got up. He then somehow managed to hop on teammate Matti Breschel's bike and work his way back into the peloton (with some help from big bro Frank). Also involved in that crash was yesterday's winner Alessandro Petacchi, though he seemed to be unharmed afterwards. Troubles today also may have put the end to any hopes of a GC win for team Garmin Transitions, as both favorites Christian Vandevelde and Dave Zabriskie lost over 8 minutes. If sprinter Farrar is unable to continue, that would spell disaster for the American team that was relying on Vandevelde/Zabriskie for a high overall finish and Farrar for stage wins. The peloton capped off this dreadful day by refusing to sprint to the finish line for second place. This was likely just a display of frustration, though it did help Chavanel extend his lead. Every rider was visably disgusted as he crossed the finish line, well all but one. Sylvain Chavanel will proudly wear the Maillot Jaune tomorrow as the field crosses into his home country of France, a result not even he could have dreamed of.
Sylvain Chavanel won just about everything on Tuesday afternoon except a first aid kit. He left that to the rest of the field. Chavanel broke away early and methodically lost the rest of the breakaway to take the stage while the riders behind him crashed and fell like they were riding on soap. The chaos behind him caused Chavanel to build up a 4 minute lead over the main field, well more than enough to also give him the yellow jersey. As if it were icing on the cake, Chavanel also took over the points lead because of the peloton protest as they crossed the finishing line. While it may have been the highlight day of Chavanel's career, he was the only one smiling at the end of the day. Wicked weather conditions made the roads on the way to Spa very slick and continued the disturbing trend of way too many crashes. (referring to the series of late incidents that plagued stage 1 as well) Many of the big names in the field took a spill at least once, and some even more than that. While favorites like Lance and Contador simply got up and chased their way back to the peloton, some other big names POSSIBLY may not have been so lucky (no official word yet on their conditions). Top 3 sprinter Tyler Farrar probably had the most wicked crash of the day, and his pain was visable as he tried to recover. 
Farrar finished the stage, but about 20 minutes out. Race favorite Andy Schleck also took a very dangerous fall right in the middle of the peloton. While riders scrambled everywhere around him, Schleck was in obvious pain clutching one arm as he got up. He then somehow managed to hop on teammate Matti Breschel's bike and work his way back into the peloton (with some help from big bro Frank). Also involved in that crash was yesterday's winner Alessandro Petacchi, though he seemed to be unharmed afterwards. Troubles today also may have put the end to any hopes of a GC win for team Garmin Transitions, as both favorites Christian Vandevelde and Dave Zabriskie lost over 8 minutes. If sprinter Farrar is unable to continue, that would spell disaster for the American team that was relying on Vandevelde/Zabriskie for a high overall finish and Farrar for stage wins. The peloton capped off this dreadful day by refusing to sprint to the finish line for second place. This was likely just a display of frustration, though it did help Chavanel extend his lead. Every rider was visably disgusted as he crossed the finish line, well all but one. Sylvain Chavanel will proudly wear the Maillot Jaune tomorrow as the field crosses into his home country of France, a result not even he could have dreamed of.
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