The Hindu : Sport / Cycling : Hushovt wins stage two as Valverde maintains lead

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Hushovt wins stage two as Valverde maintains lead

Four teams underwent blood tests before the second stage
Valverde avoided a disaster when a spectator got in his way

SAINT BRIEUC (France): Norwegian Thor Hushovt of Credit Agricole won the second stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, a 164.5km stage from Auray to here.

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) retained the overall lead ahead of Monday’s third stage, a 208km race from Saint Malo to Nantes.

On the second of three days in Brittany the French riders in the peloton were at the front for most of the day although in the end their biggest achievement was to show the sponsors’ jersey.

Shortly after the start, Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel of Cofidis was joined by compatriot Thomas Voeckler of Bouygues Telecom, and together they built a phantom lead on the peloton.

Voecker, the provisional ‘King of the Mountains,’ was out to defend the polka dot jersey, although the presence of Chavanel was a far bigger mystery — especially as their lead on the bunch did not reach a promising conclusion.

Lead reduced

After 43km of racing the peloton passed the summit of the Cote de Kergroix with a four-minute deficit to the leaders. Another 50km further on, the lead was down to three minutes.

It was on the summit of the Mur de Bretagne climb, where race leader Alejandro Valverde avoided potential disaster when an enthusiastic spectator got in his way, that another two Frenchman attacked the peloton.

Christophe Moreau and his Agritubel teammate David Lelay raced off and did well to catch their two compatriots at the 107km mark.

At that point the peloton trailed by 2:48, but thanks to the pursuit work of Francaise des Jeux, Caisse d’Epargne and eventually Quick Step, the deficit had virtually evaporated to a minute with 25km to go.

Teams tested

Earlier, four teams underwent blood tests before the second stage and all 36 riders were cleared to race, organizers said.

The French Anti-Doping Agency, which is handling all the tests in France this year, tested riders from Lampre, Team CSC, Columbia and Saunier Duval. — Agencies

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