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93rd Tour de France - ProT
France, July 1-23, 2006
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 2 - Monday, July 3: Obernai - Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), 228.5 km
McEwen thrives in chaos
Danger-prone Viking back in maillot jaune
By Anthony Tan & Brecht Decaluwé in Esch-sur-Alzette, with additional reporting from Jeff Jones
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Indecision characterised the finale yesterday, with none of the favoured sprinters willing to take control. But one day later, the world's best were ready to stamp their authority on the road to Esch-sur-Alzette.
However, there were two things they didn't count on. First, a daring attack by T-Mobile's Matthias Kessler with six kilometres to go, and second, a crash just 2,000 metres from the finish that brought more than half the bunch to a complete halt, aiding the former's chances.
But with all the fast fellows still up front and Kessler holding a very tentative eight-second lead 1000 metres from the finish, the German met his fate and came up 200 metres short of a stage victory. Behind him, the final 500 metres was as intense as it gets at the Tour de France, as Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen had their 53x11s humming.
Singing the sweetest tune was Australian pocket rocket McEwen; his compact, 70 kilogram, muscled figure wrenching every last iota of out of body and bike, following through with a perfect throw to capture his ninth Tour stage win. Belgian world champion Boonen finished fast to take second, while Hushovd wanted the same line as McEwen and wouldn't budge, pulling his foot as a result and pedaling across the line with one leg, simultaneously throwing his right hand up in protest.
"Every stage you win in the Tour de France is special. This may be the last one, but I remember every single one of them in a different way," said McEwen.
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"Every year you have to prove yourself again and again. And you can't forget the fact that I've just turned 34; they often say that when sprinters get older, they get slower; I haven't slowed down yet, so that's a good sign," he grinned.
"I think that what makes it special is that every year you start with a big zero on the scoreboard. You have to come here and you have to score. That's the pressure to get that stage win; now I've got it and that takes a bit pressure away. But we can go for more!
"The stage was nice because the way the team worked very well together. It was a very tough final with those small hills. I survived the stage very well and had plenty of speed. Fred [Rodriguez] brought me up to about seventh position in the last kilometre, being in front of me in the wind, and just improving our position the whole time. He did the perfect job.
"I started on the wheel of O'Grady and he was behind Zabel, then I went passed both of them. Because O'Grady passed Zabel on his left, I needed to go even more to the left. From there, I rode a direct line to the finish line as the road curved just a little bit to the right. With about hundred metres to go, I felt something against my foot and I pulled back to the right. That proved to be Hushovd."
As the saying goes, though, good things come in threes, and three third places (including two intermediate sprints) today has seen Hushovd back in yellow.
Was he surprised to be back in the maillot jaune so soon?
"Yeah sure, after all what happened yesterday!" he exclaimed. "First of all, when I was in the hospital [last night], I was afraid that I couldn't even race today. But later on, in the hotel, I knew it wasn't too bad; I could move and use my arm. This morning, I knew I could race and I knew that I was only two seconds behind the yellow jersey, so I wanted to try get it back.
"I was feeling a bit up and down [today]. The first half hour was alright but then I felt a bit tired. Mainly because of the everything that happened yesterday.
"I've taken lots of medication for the treatment of my wound. I feel it when I'm riding, but especially the shocks are hurting; that's because of the haematoma which is underneath - it's painful. That mix gave me a sore stomach. That's why I got to the medical car. I think the status of my arm will improve during the coming days."
On his reaction at the finish line, Hushovd said: "When you sprint you enjoy all the adrenaline... when the incident happened, I got scared and afterwards that turned into anger. That was my first reaction; when I saw the video, I understood it wasn't his [McEwen's] fault.
"Sprints are sometimes really dangerous, like yesterday. Nobody made mistakes. Robbie, just like other sprinters sometimes, makes some dangerous manoeuvres, but he didn't make mistakes [today]. I can't blame him today; I can blame myself a bit."
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Asked if there was any bad blood between the two, McEwen replied: "I've already spoken with Thor since the finish. Thor and I watched to the video together. Thor came with his front wheel against my left foot. We're still friends, no worries."
Now five seconds ahead of Boonen and eight in front of McEwen, with overnight leader George Hincapie ten seconds behind in fourth place, the hard-as-nails God of Thunder will have to call on all his superpowers to survive tomorrow's stage to Valkenburg in Holland. Six categorised climbs in the last 100 kilometres and the famous Cauberg - the finish of the Amstel Gold Race each year - two kilometres from the finish will make the stage to Pays-Bas the most difficult to control so far.
Said a confident Hushovd: "I know that hill very well - that's where I won the time trial at the under 23 World's. Tomorrow is a hard day; it's up and down the whole day. I know that if I'm in form, I can survive the climbs. But it depends on how the race will develop, that will be affected by the climbers. I want to try and keep the jersey."
"I think it can end in a sprint," predicted McEwen. "It will be something maybe slightly tougher than today, but it will be very difficult to escape on those last climbs. I think pretty much all sprinters will be there: Hushovd, Boonen, Freire, Zabel, O'Grady... they wont worry too much about those hills. I hope to be there, too, and go for another stage win.
"I expect Boonen and Hushovd to be strong and they are strong. But they are not the only strong sprinters. Today, I showed that I was stronger."
How it unfolded
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Stage 2 began in warm and sunny conditions just outside of Strasbourg in Obernai, an agricultural/tourist town in the Bas-Rhin. The riders faced 228.5 km of lumpy terrain en route to Esch-sur-Alzette, near the southern end of Luxembourg. One rider of the 176 did not start: Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas), who has been suffering from a prostate infection and was taking antibiotics, but he was not recovered in time before the Tour started. But one rider who did start was big Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole), who despite having several stitches to a cut in his right arm after yesterday, was looking forward to doing battle again, in true Viking style.
As with yesterday's stage, it didn't take long for the main breakaway of the day to be established. Today it was the turn of two unheralded Spanish riders, David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) and Aitor Hernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi), who took off during the first kilometre and were not chased by the peloton. Again, the Tour is not being raced like it has been in recent years, with attack after attack going in the first 50 km before a break finally gets clear.
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The two leaders were allowed a sizeable gap: 11'20 after 31 km as they climbed the cat. 3 Col des Pandours, where Hernández took the four points at the summit ahead of De la Fuente, with mountains leader Wegmann in third ahead of Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues). The placings were almost identical over the Col de Valsberg (km 50), except Pineau was third ahead of Wegmann. This put Hernández in the virtual lead for the spotted jersey.
As the breakaways averaged 36.9 km/h for the first hour, Discovery Channel began to ride tempo behind, protecting George Hincapie in the maillot jaune, and quickly pegging the gap back to 10 minutes. The situation remained like that until Quick.Step and Davitamon began to ride, pulling the leaders back to 7'25 at the first intermediate sprint of the day at Marimont-Les-Benestroff (km 107). De la Fuente took the points there, but the battle was on in the bunch for third: Tom Boonen edged out Hushovd for the final two seconds, clearly setting his sights on the green jersey. Hushovd was also thinking of yellow, as two seconds was all he needed to reclaim it from Hincapie.
The next sprint at Holling saw the same placings up front, but Boonen went too early behind and Hushovd easily came around him, claiming a virtual lead in the overall classification. This hotly contested battle for the intermediate sprints would have put a smile on McEwen's face, as he chose not to spend any more energy than he had to today.
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On the day's third climb, the cat. 4 Côte de Kédange-sur-Canner (km 187.5), the gap between Hernández and De la Fuente had dropped to just 3'00, thanks to the work of Quick.Step's Cretskens, Davitamon's Vansevenant, Vansummeren and Brandt, and Credit Agricole's Charteau. De la Fuente could sense that Hernández was suffering, and sprinted for the summit, dropping the Euskaltel rider and making a bid for a solo victory with 40 clicks left to travel. Wegmann again took third, keeping his chances for the dots alive.
Hernández came back to the peloton before the final sprint in Yutz (km 198), which meant that there were 4 and 2 second time bonuses up for grabs. Boonen took four seconds while Hushovd claimed two, increasing his buffer over Hincapie for the yellow. With the gap coming down fast, De la Fuente survived until the penultimate climb, the Côte de Kanfen (km 212.5), where Wegmann attacked with Lefevre (Bouygues), Verdugo (Euskaltel) and eventually Gilbert (FDJ). Wegmann bridged up to the Saunier Duval rider on the last climb at 13 km to go, and although he took three points, De la Fuente was second and took over the maillot á pois.
Wegmann continued on his own with Gilbert's group sweeping up De la Fuente but dangling 20 seconds behind the leader, with the bunch another 20 seconds back, trying to get organised. Lampre-Fondital and Milram were now working, and Wegmann and the rest didn't last. With 7 km to go, it was peloton groupé.
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With six kilometres to go, the road went up and down again as the riders entered Luxembourg. Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) took a flyer and rode an excellent final 5.7 km, looking like he might snatch the stage from under the sprinters' noses. But Ballan and Flecha combined at the head of the bunch to pull back the T-Mobile man in the last 200 metres, before McEwen, Hushovd and Boonen launched their sprints on the right side of the road. McEwen hit the front and was not headed. Hushovd had his wheel, but lost momentum in the final metres when he clicked out of the pedals after McEwen drifted into him. That cost the Norwegian at least one place, and he finished third behind McEwen and Boonen, the latter also not having a smooth run. Still, the extra eight seconds plus his gains on the road were enough to put the tough Viking back in yellow for tomorrow.
Stage 3 - Tuesday, July 4: Esch-sur-Alzette - Valkenburg (Netherlands), 216 km
Stage 3 will be like a classics cross between Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Amstel Gold as it winds north through the Belgian Ardennes and into the hilly southeast corner of the Netherlands to finish atop the Cauberg climb as in the Amstel Gold classics. If it comes down to a front group, look for names like Dutch champ Boogerd, Valverde or Frank Schleck to take the honours.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us
- Motos lined up and awaiting the day in Obernai.
- The Cochonou girls roll through the German-esque start town today.
- More of the publicity caravan.
- Things get rolling in the start village this morning.
- Floyd Landis (Phonak) looking confident early on.
- Tom Boonen (Quickstep) second on today's stage.
- Aitor Hernandez (Euskaltel) and David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) asking for some water from the Aquarel moto.
- The bunch comes through with the TV helicopter hot on their heels.
- Riders get strung out through the countryside.
- George Hincapie (Discovery) site comfortably in the pack.
- Riders on the front keep the pace high.
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) celebrates his win.
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) protests his tangle with McEwen during the sprint.
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) back in yellow for another day.
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) ready to go
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) is the sunglasses king
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) makes his way through the crowd
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) was bandaged and bruised, but he started
- Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) heads out from the bus
- Jose Rujano (Quick.Step) signs autographs
- Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) couldn't start due to a prostate infection
- Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) couldn't start stage 2
- Erik Zabel (Milram) and his wife
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) pre-start
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) wondering where to go
- Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) wheels his bike away from sign on
- Discovery Channel rewarded with the team prize
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) chats with Jimmy Casper
- The jersey wearers gather at the start
- There was only one winner
- McEwen is happy; Hushovd is not.
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) holds off Tom Boonen to win stage 2
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) celebrates his first stage win
- McEwen enjoys the moment
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) rolls across the line
- Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) after the finish
- Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) almost did it today
- Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) is thirsty
- McEwen thanks his teammate Christophe Brandt
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) salutes the crowd
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) salutes
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) happy on the podium
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) in green after stage 2
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) in the maillot vert
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) with his yellow jersey lion
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) puts on the maillot jaune again
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) back in yellow
- David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) smiles as the new mountains leader
Images by Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) describes the results of his fishing expedition to any who will listen
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) after a long, hot day
- David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) swigs from his bidon
- The two breakaways get another time check
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) in yellow during stage 2
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) in front of the sprint, while Thor Hushovd hits McEwen from behind
- McEwen powers to the line as Hushovd unclicks from his pedal
- McEwen almost home
- McEwen triumphs over Boonen and Hushovd
- McEwen wins, Hushovd doesn't: that is the final outcome of the stage
- Hushovd is not a happy Viking
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) celebrates
Images by AFP Photo
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) rides in yellow during stage 3
- David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) leads his breakaway companion Aitor Hernandez (Euskaltel) in stage 3
- One way to watch the Tour
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) charges for the line as Hushovd unclips behind him
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) wins the third stage in Esch-sur-Alzette
Images by Anthony Tan/Cyclingnews.com
- SRM technology has become very refined, with data from Patrik Sinkewitz's SRM Powermeter transferred to ARD's television audience.
- The expectation on Alejandro Valverde is now sky high.
- Quick.Step-Innergetic's latest transfer, José Rujano.
- Erik Zabel has a moment with his wife before the stage start in Obernai.
- Robbie McEwen about to chomp on an energy bar in the Village Départ.
- Thor Hushovd appears in be in some pain today, not even able to sign an autograph.
- It's hard being beautiful...
Results
1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 5.36.14 (40.775 km/h) 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 4 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 6 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 7 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 9 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 10 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 11 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 12 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 14 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 15 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 16 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 17 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 18 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 19 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 20 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 21 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 22 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 23 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir 24 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 25 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 26 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 27 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 28 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile 29 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 30 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 31 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 32 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 33 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 34 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 35 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 36 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 37 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 38 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 39 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 40 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 41 Marco Velo (Ita) Milram 42 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 43 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 44 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 45 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 46 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Quick-Step-Innergetic 47 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 48 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 49 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 50 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 51 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 52 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 53 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 54 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak 55 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 56 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile 57 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Milram 58 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Milram 59 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 60 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 61 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 62 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel 63 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel 64 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak 65 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 66 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 67 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel 68 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 69 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 70 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 71 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 72 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 73 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 74 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 75 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 76 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel 77 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 78 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 79 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 80 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 81 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 82 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 83 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 84 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 85 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 86 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 87 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 88 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 89 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 90 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile 91 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 92 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 93 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 94 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 95 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 96 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 97 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 98 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saunier Duval - Prodir 99 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 100 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 101 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak 102 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 103 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Phonak 104 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 105 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 106 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak 107 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 108 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 109 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas 110 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Phonak 111 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 112 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 113 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 114 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 115 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 116 Ivan Ramiro Parra (Col) Cofidis 117 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole 118 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick-Step-Innergetic 119 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 120 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 121 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 122 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 123 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 124 Stephane Goubert (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 125 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 126 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 127 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 128 Sandy Casar (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 129 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 130 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 131 José Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel 132 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 133 Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 134 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 135 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 136 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 137 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2R-Prevoyance 138 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 139 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 140 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis 141 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 142 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Milram 2.18 143 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram 144 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 145 Samuel Plouhinec (Fra) Agritubel 146 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 2.51 147 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 148 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis 149 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak 150 José Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2.51 151 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 3.30 152 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital 153 Kjelt Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 3.54 154 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 155 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 156 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 157 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 158 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 159 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 160 Viatscheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel 161 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 162 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 6.55 163 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 164 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis 165 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 166 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 8.28 167 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 168 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 9.14 169 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 170 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 171 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 172 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 173 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 174 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 9.37 175 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13.23 DNS Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas Points 1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 35 pts 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 30 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 26 4 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 24 5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 22 6 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 20 7 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 19 8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 18 9 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 17 10 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 16 11 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 15 12 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 14 13 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 13 14 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 12 15 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 11 16 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 10 17 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 9 18 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 8 19 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 7 20 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 6 21 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 5 22 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 4 23 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 24 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2 25 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 1 Mountains Col des Pandours - Cat. 3, km 35.5 1 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 pts 2 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 3 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2 4 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1 Col de Valsberg - Cat. 3, km 50 1 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 pts 2 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 3 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 4 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1 Côte de Kédange-sur-Canner - Cat. 4, km 187.5 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 pts 2 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 3 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1 Côte de Kanfen - Cat. 4, km 212.5 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 pts 2 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2 3 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1 Côte de Volmerange-les-Mines - Cat. 4, km 215 1 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3 pts 2 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2 3 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1 Sprints Marimont-Les-Benestroff, km 107 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 6 pts 2 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 3 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 2 Holling, km 169.5 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 6 pts 2 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 2 Yutz, km 198.5 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 6 pts 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 4 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 2 Young rider 1 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 5.36.14 2 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 4 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 5 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 6 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 7 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 8 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 9 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 10 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 11 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 12 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 13 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 15 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 16 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 17 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 18 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 19 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 3.54 20 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 21 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 8.28 22 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 9.37 23 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13.23 Most combative 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir Teams 1 Liquigas 16.48.42 2 T-Mobile Team 3 Davitamon - Lotto 4 Saunier Duval - Prodir 5 Team CSC 6 Team Milram 7 Discovery Channel Team 8 Gerolsteiner 9 Rabobank 10 Quick Step - Innergetic 11 Francaise Des Jeux 12 Credit Agricole 13 Lampre-Fondital 14 Euskaltel - Euskadi 15 Bouygues Telecom 16 Phonak Hearing Systems 17 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 18 Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears 19 AG2R Prevoyance 20 Agritubel General classification after stage 2 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 9.54.19 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 0.05 3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 0.08 4 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 0.10 5 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 0.16 6 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 7 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 8 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 9 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 0.18 10 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 0.20 11 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 0.21 12 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 13 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.22 14 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile 15 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 0.24 16 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 0.25 17 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 18 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.26 19 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak 20 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 0.27 21 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Phonak 0.28 22 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile 23 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 24 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 25 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 0.29 26 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.30 27 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 28 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 29 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 30 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 0.31 31 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 0.32 32 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 33 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 0.33 34 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 35 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 36 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.34 37 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 38 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 39 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 40 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 0.35 41 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis 42 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 43 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 44 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 45 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 46 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 47 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 0.36 48 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak 49 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel 50 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.37 51 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 52 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.38 53 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 54 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 55 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 56 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 57 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 58 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 59 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 60 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.39 61 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 62 José Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel 63 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Phonak 64 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 0.40 65 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 66 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 67 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 0.41 68 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 69 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 0.42 70 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 71 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 72 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel 73 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.43 74 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 75 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 76 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 77 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 78 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.44 79 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 80 Sandy Casar (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 81 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 82 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Quick-Step-Innergetic 83 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 0.45 84 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 85 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel 86 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.46 87 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 88 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 89 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Milram 90 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 91 Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.47 92 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 93 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.48 94 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Milram 0.49 95 Ivan Ramiro Parra (Col) Cofidis 96 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak 97 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 0.50 98 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak 99 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 100 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 101 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital 102 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.51 103 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 104 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 105 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2R-Prevoyance 106 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 107 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 108 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak 0.52 109 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.53 110 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 111 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 112 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 113 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.54 114 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 115 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 116 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 0.55 117 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile 118 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 119 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 120 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 121 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel 0.56 122 Marco Velo (Ita) Milram 123 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 124 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.57 125 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 126 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole 0.58 127 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 128 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 129 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 130 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.59 131 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 132 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 133 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 1.00 134 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 135 Stephane Goubert (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 1.01 136 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 137 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.02 138 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas 139 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick-Step-Innergetic 140 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 141 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 1.04 142 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.08 143 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 1.10 144 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram 3.07 145 Samuel Plouhinec (Fra) Agritubel 3.12 146 José Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3.31 147 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 3.34 148 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis 3.45 149 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Milram 3.55 150 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 4.10 151 Viatscheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel 4.23 152 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 4.25 153 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 4.32 154 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 4.34 155 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 4.40 156 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 4.46 157 Kjelt Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 4.54 158 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 4.55 159 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 5.07 160 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 5.16 161 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 6.11 162 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis 7.20 163 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 7.38 164 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 7.40 165 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 7.44 166 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 9.05 167 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 9.14 168 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 9.47 169 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 9.51 170 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 10.03 171 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 10.09 172 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 10.19 173 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 11.10 174 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 11.34 175 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 14.13 Points classification 1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 65 pts 2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 62 3 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 49 4 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 46 5 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 43 6 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 43 7 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 42 8 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 40 9 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 36 10 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 35 11 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 31 12 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 28 13 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 24 14 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 22 15 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 20 16 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 19 17 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 18 18 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 16 19 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 15 20 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 14 21 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 13 22 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 13 23 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 11 24 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 10 25 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 10 26 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 10 27 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 9 28 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 9 29 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 8 30 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 8 31 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 8 32 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 7 33 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 6 34 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 6 35 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 5 36 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir 4 37 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 4 38 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 4 39 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 40 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 3 41 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 2 42 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 43 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 44 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2 45 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 2 46 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1 47 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 1 Mountains classification 1 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 14 pts 2 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 12 3 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 10 4 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3 5 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 6 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 7 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1 Young rider classification 1 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 9.54.40 2 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 0.07 3 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.09 4 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 0.14 5 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 0.17 6 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.18 7 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 0.20 8 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 0.22 9 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 0.24 10 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.27 11 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 0.30 12 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.32 13 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 14 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 15 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.37 16 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.40 17 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 0.43 18 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 0.49 19 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 4.19 20 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 4.25 21 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 8.53 22 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 9.58 23 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13.52 Teams classification 1 Discovery Channel Team 29.43.58 2 Team CSC 0.01 3 T-Mobile Team 0.07 4 Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears 5 Phonak Hearing Systems 0.14 6 Gerolsteiner 0.18 7 Davitamon - Lotto 0.31 8 Credit Agricole 9 Liquigas 0.32 10 AG2R Prevoyance 11 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 0.34 12 Lampre-Fondital 0.37 13 Francaise Des Jeux 0.39 14 Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.42 15 Rabobank 16 Bouygues Telecom 0.46 17 Quick Step - Innergetic 18 Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.03 19 Team Milram 1.16 20 Agritubel 1.23
