Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) once again highlighted his return to the top end of the peloton with a hard-fought sprint victory in the second stage of Paris-Nice between Mantes-la-Jolie and Orleans. The Belgian former World champion was part of a 21-strong group - which also contained teammates Sylvain Chavanel, Levi Leipheimer and Nikolas Maes - that broke away from the front of the peloton, in rain and strong winds, with around 80km of the 185.5km remaining.
With plenty of overall contenders in the group, including Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), Leipheimer, and white jersey Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing) - the second, third and fourth overall after the opening time trial - the group worked together well to distance the main peloton, which still contained yellow jersey Gustav Larsson (Vacansoleil-DCM).
Despite an attempted break from Larsson’s Vacansoleil-DCM teammate Lieuwe Westra with 4km to go, and a final kilometre attack from Andreas Klier (Garmin-Barracuda), Boonen’s Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammates delivered him to the final few hundred metres where he saw off the challenge of the rest.
In second place was Jose Joaquim Rojas (Movistar), who stuck to Boonen’s wheel at the finish but was able to come around; while John Degenkolb (Project 1t4i), who tried to go early but found himself overtaken, was third.
"It was a hard day with the crosswind,” said Boonen afterwards. “We fought a hard battle all day because there were GC contenders in the leading group, and I’m glad to finish a day like this with my 100th victory.
“To win races is always a good sign,” he continued. “I went to Tirreno-Adriatico these last four years but I wanted to change a bit. I know I always had good seasons when I rode Paris-Nice. Usually I’m at my best in the following classics. I won good races this season, including bunch sprints, which confirms that the form is here.
“Sylvain worked well today,” he told the French TV cameras. “He’s a friend, I’m glad to have spent these last seasons with him. Today he helped me but I know my time will come to help him or Levi Leipheimer, who will race for the GC in the next stages.”
Wiggins’ presence in the group - as well as three seconds taken at the stage’s intermediate sprint - saw the British champion take the yellow jersey from Larsson that he might have got the day before if he had not had to ride in the rain.
A strong wind puts paid to breakaway but then causes a split
The strong headwind in the early part of the stage saw the peloton stick together for the first hour. Finally though, after 60km, as the peloton was passing through the town of Rambouillet, Olivier Kaisen (Lotto-Belisol) broke away on his own. He quickly managed to open up a lead over the huddled peloton, which was up to 2’40” by the 74km point.
As Kaisen crossed the top of the stage’s one climb - the 3rd category Côte des Granges-le-Roi, after 85km - his lead was down to 1’55”, as mountain classification leader Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM) outsprinted third place Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) to secure the polka-dot jersey for another day.
Shortly afterwards, just as the peloton left the feedzone, a group of eleven riders broke clear and bridged across to the lone Belgian. Suddenly though, a crash in the peloton saw a number of riders split away from the front; they joined up with the leaders to make a group of 21 up the road.
Present in the group were second, third and fourth places overall - Wiggins, Leipheimer and Garderen - but, crucially, not race leader Larsson.
Also missing from the front group was Andy Schleck (RadioShack), who had been struggling in the conditions for some time; the Luxemburger was now in the third peloton, along with De Gendt and French hopes David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Pierrick Fédrigo (FDJ-BigMat), and Jean-Christophe Péraud (AG2R La Mondiale).
Leipheimer was accompanied by Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammates Boonen, Chavanel, and Maes, while Wiggins had Sky teammate Geraint Thomas, and Van Garderen BMC Racing teammate Taylor Phinney. Also present was Alejandro Valverde, with Movistar sprinter teammate Rojas.
The break is full of overall contenders and sprinters too
The leading group consisted of: Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Levi Leipheimer and Nikolas Maes (all Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins (both Team Sky), Alejandro Valverde and Jose Joaquim Rojas (both Movistar), Maxime Monfort (RadioShack-Nissan), Anthony Ravard (AG2R La Mondiale), Francesco Gavazzi and Robert Kiserlovski (both Astana), Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM), Arnaud Jeannesson (FDJ-BigMat), Andreas Klier and Sep Vanmarcke (both Garmin-Barracuda), Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van Garderen (both BMC Racing), Simon Spilak and Angel Vicioso (both Katusha), and John Degenkolb (Project 1t4i).
As the strong teams continued to put the pressure on in the strong crosswinds, they managed to open up a gap of 1’40” over the group containing Larsson with 60km to go. Wiggins burst forward to take the intermediate sprint in Neuville-au-Bois with 45.5km to go, ahead of Valverde and Monfort. Since he started the day just one second behind, the three bonus seconds would give the British champion the race lead, even if Larsson’s group were able to catch up.
The fact that Boonen missed out on the bonuses also meant that the Belgian would have to drop Wiggins and Leipheimer to take the jersey, even if he won the stage.
This seemed to be the signal to Larsson’s Vacansoleil-DCM team to give up the chase as, having pulled back five seconds before the sprint, the gap slowly began to open up once again. With Wiggins himself contributing to the chase, the 21-strong group was 2’20” ahead with 35km to go; the chased did begin again though - now from Saur-Sojasun and Lotto-Belisol - and the gap remained largely static for some time.
With 20km to go, as the leaders turned westward towards the finish, the cross/head wind became a tailwind. Clear skies gave way to rain clouds once more, and the chasing peloton began to chip away a few seconds from the lead. There was virtually no hope of pulling them back before the finish however, with virtually everybody in the group contributing to the chase.
There were a few passengers however, with Westra, Ravard and Monfort sitting close to the back, where they were watched by the ever-attentive Klier.
Cooperation is still strong but attacks begin as the finish approaches
Inside the final 10km, with the gap still 2’15”, most riders in the lead group were still working well; even those with overall ambitions, like Wiggins, Leipheimer and Van Garderen were taking their turns on the front; the sprinters were beginning to eye each other towards the back however.
Saur-Sojasun was still leading the chase since - despite the stage now being out of reach - the French team was anxious to keep Jérôme Coppel in touch in the overall classification, with wildcards for the Tour de France yet to be announced.
With 4km to go Westra, who had contributed nothing all day, tried to escape on the opposite side of a traffic island from the rest. The others were expecting such a move however, and Chavanel quickly pulled the rest up to the Dutchman’s wheel. The French champion stayed there on the front and began to string the group out; beginning to prepare the sprint for Boonen.
As they crossed the wide river Loire inside the final 2km, Boonen positioned himself on Maes’ wheel, halfway back down the line. On a big roundabout shortly after the flamme rouge however, Klier made a jump for it; he was calmly pulled back by Maes though, with Boonen on his wheel, and Boonen launched himself with 200 metres to go.
He surged past an early move from Degenkolb, with Rojas on his wheel, but neither was able to get back on terms with the former World champion, and he sat up to celebrate his fifth victory of the year, and the hundredth of his career.
Michael Morkov (Saxo Bank) led the peloton across the line 2’29” behind Boonen, while the group containing Andy Schleck, Moncoutié, Fédrigo, and Péraud finished 10’58” down; any hopes they’d held of a high overall finish now gone.
Result stage 2
1. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
2. Jose Joaquim Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
3. John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i
4. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Garmin-Barracuda
5. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Katusha Team
6. Angel Vicioso (Spa) Katusha Team
7. Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
8. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
9. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
10. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
Standings after stage 2
1. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky
2. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @ 6s
3. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @ 7s
4. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team @ 11s
5. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @ 14s
6. Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan @ 18s
7. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team @ 21s
8. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM @ 22s
9. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky @ 28s
10. Jose Joaquim Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team @ 29s