Cavendish wins second stage

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, of RadioShack, retained the race leader's yellow jersey with his 7sec lead on Britain's Bradley Wiggins (Sky) intact after the 207 km ride from Vise to Tournai in Belgium.

Cavendish, the race's defending green jersey champion for the points competition, has come into the race with, as usual, plenty of motivation to add to his record tally.

But because Sky's big aim is to secure the yellow jersey for Wiggins' in Paris, he has no train of sprinters to help lead him into the flat finishes where support can often be decisive.

On what was the first flat finish of the race, that decision proved no problem for the Isle of Man rider.

He simply followed the trains of several other specialist sprint teams -- Lotto, Orica-GreenEdge and Argos - and did some slick manoeuvring before following Greipel when the German launched his final drive for the line.

Thanks to his energy-saving efforts earlier, Cavendish emerged from Greipel's slipstream to take the victory by half a wheel.

"I left it a bit late, with about 200 (metres) to go, I should have gone past Greipel a bit earlier. It was quite tight at the end," said Cavendish, who said he was even more buoyed by winning in the rainbow stripes.

"I wanted to show this jersey off, you know. I have massive respect for this jersey and everyone who's worn it. Not just on the Tour de France, but on other races as well.

"I'm really really happy. It's very special to cross the line (as world champion).

"I look down and see the rainbow bands and it just fills me with pride."

Team Sky chief Dave Brailsford said: "Psychologically that was a big stage for all the sprint teams.

"He (Cavendish) has proved there why he is the number one in the world and why he has been the number one for a long time.

"He benefits from a sprint lead-out, there's no doubt. But he showed today he doesn't need one."

Australia's Matt Goss, of Orica-GreenEdge, took third place ahead of Tom Veelers, the Dutchman stepping up for more fancied Argos-Shimano teammate Marcel Kittel after he suffered stomach problems in the stage.

Cancellara, meanwhile, will wear the yellow jersey into Tuesday's third stage over 197 km from Orchies to Boulogne-sur-Mer when the race heads into France.

After two "intense" days of racing, the Olympic time trial champion admitted he was happy the peloton had not decided to really turn on the full gas, in a bid to catch an ealier three-man breakaway, until the final kilometres.

"I'm happy to get to France with the yellow jersey on. I just hope my legs will be better than they were today," said Cancellara.

"I was pretty tired today, but I suppose that's normal when we've had two intense stages and all the commitments that go with having the yellow jersey.

"Thankfully we only stepped up the pace in the final 25 km.

"I know Tuesday will be a difficult stage, but we've looked at it in detail and hopefully it will be alright for me."

1. Mark Cavendish (GBR/SKY) 4h 56min 59sec

2. Andr Greipel (GER/LTB) at 0:00.

3. Matthew Goss (AUS/GEC) 0:00.

4. Tom Veelers (NED/ARG) 0:00.

5. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 0:00.

6. Peter Sagan (SVK/LIQ) 0:00.

7. Yauheni Hutarovich (BLR/FDJ) 0:00.

8. Juan Jos Haedo (ARG/SAX) 0:00.

9. Mark Renshaw (AUS/RAB) 0:00.

10. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 0:00.

11. Jos Joaquin Rojas (ESP/MOV) 0:00.

12. Sbastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

13. Peter Velits (SVK/OPQ) 0:00.

14. Kenny van Hummel (NED/VAC) 0:00.

15. Yukiya Arashiro (JPN/EUC) 0:00.

16. Oscar Freire (ESP/KAT) 0:00.

17. Borut Božic (SLO/AST) 0:00.

18. Bernhard Eisel (AUT/SKY) 0:00.

19. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 0:00.

20. Koen de Kort (NED/ARG) 0:00.

21. Andre Kashechkin (KAZ/AST) 0:00.

22. Maartens Tjallingii (NED/RAB) 0:00.

23. Brett Lancaster (AUS/GEC) 0:00.

24. Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

25. Egoi Martinez (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

26. Greg Henderson (NZL/LTB) 0:00.

27. Davide Malacarne (ITA/EUC) 0:00.

28. Marco Marcato (ITA/VAC) 0:00.

29. Bauke Mollema (NED/RAB) 0:00.

30. Steven Kruijswijk (NED/RAB) 0:00.

31. Danilo Hondo (GER/LAM) 0:00.

32. Maarten Wijnants (BEL/RAB) 0:00.

33. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

34. Robert Gesink (NED/RAB) 0:00.

35. Julien Fouchard (FRA/COF) 0:00.

36. Jurgen Van den Broeck (BEL/LTB) 0:00.

37. Jrome Coppel (FRA/SAU) 0:00.

38. Jean-Marc Marino (FRA/SAU) 0:00.

39. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 0:00.

40. Bram Tankink (NED/RAB) 0:00.

41. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/BMC) 0:00.

42. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/OPQ) 0:00.

43. Rui Costa (POR/MOV) 0:00.

44. Anthony Delaplace (FRA/SAU) 0:00.

45. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/RSH) 0:00.

46. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR/SKY) 0:00.

47. Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.

48. Janez Brajkovic (SLO/AST) 0:00.

49. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 0:00.

50. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.

51. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.

52. Nicolas Roche (IRL/ALM) 0:00.

53. Jorge Azanza (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

54. Andreas Kloden (GER/RSH) 0:00.

55. Andriy Grivko (UKR/AST) 0:00.

56. Denis Menchov (RUS/KAT) 0:00.

57. Johan Van Summeren (BEL/GRM) 0:00.

58. Rob Ruijgh (NED/VAC) 0:00.

59. Dominik Nerz (GER/LIQ) 0:00.

60. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (ESP/MOV) 0:00.

61. Wout Poels (NED/VAC) 0:00.

62. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR/RSH) 0:00.

63. Vladimir Gusev (RUS/KAT) 0:00.

64. Grega Bole (SLO/LAM) 0:00.

65. Christophe Riblon (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

66. George Hincapie (USA/BMC) 0:00.

67. Lieuwe Westra (NED/VAC) 0:00.

68. Bradley Wiggins (GBR/SKY) 0:00.

69. Sbastien Minard (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

70. Luca Paolini (ITA/KAT) 0:00.

71. Eduard Vorganov (RUS/KAT) 0:00.

72. Jean Christophe Peraud (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

73. Maxime Monfort (BEL/RSH) 0:00.

74. Michele Scarponi (ITA/LAM) 0:00.

75. Mickal Cherel (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

76. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP/RSH) 0:00.

77. Simone Stortoni (ITA/LAM) 0:00.

78. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 0:00.

79. Simon Gerrans (AUS/GEC) 0:00.

80. Imanol Erviti (ESP/MOV) 0:00.

81. Guillaume Levarlet (FRA/SAU) 0:00.

82. Romain Zingle (BEL/COF) 0:00.

83. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 0:00.

84. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA/COF) 0:00.

85. Dries Devenyns (BEL/OPQ) 0:00.

86. Arthur Vichot (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.

87. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.

88. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP/MOV) 0:00.

89. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO/AST) 0:00.

90. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) 0:00.

91. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/BMC) 0:00.

92. Jrme Pineau (FRA/OPQ) 0:00.

93. Mikel Astarloza (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

94. Vasil Kiryienka (BLR/MOV) 0:00.

95. Federico Canuti (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.

96. Levi Leipheimer (USA/OPQ) 0:00.

97. Luis ngel Mat (ESP/COF) 0:00.

98. Kevin De Weert (BEL/OPQ) 0:00.

99. Rubn Plaza (ESP/MOV) 0:00.

100. Rafael Valls (ESP/VAC) 0:00.

101. Jonathan Cantwell (AUS/SAX) 0:00.

102. Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE/AST) 0:00.

103. Chris Anker Sorensen (DEN/SAX) 0:00.

104. Maxim Iglinskiy (KAZ/AST) 0:00.

105. Robert Hunter (RSA/GRM) 0:00.

106. Johnny Hoogerland (NED/VAC) 0:00.

107. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) 0:00.

108. Bert Grabsch (GER/OPQ) 0:00.

109. Anders Lund (DEN/SAX) 0:00.

110. Nick Nuyens (BEL/SAX) 0:00.

111. Patrick Gretsch (GER/ARG) 0:00.

112. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA/COF) 0:00.

113. Pablo Urtasun (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

114. Davide Vigano (ITA/LAM) 0:00.

115. Baden Cooke (AUS/GEC) 0:00.

116. Fabrice Jeandesboz (FRA/SAU) 0:00.

117. Yuriy Krivtsov (UKR/LAM) 0:00.

118. Vincent Jrme (FRA/EUC) 0:00.

119. Pieter Weening (NED/GEC) 0:00.

120. Daryl Impey (RSA/GEC) 0:00.

121. Martin Velits (SVK/OPQ) 0:00.

122. Pierre Rolland (FRA/EUC) 0:00.

123. Sandy Casar (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.

124. Tony Gallopin (FRA/RSH) 0:00.

125. Thibaut Pinot (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.

126. Giovanni Bernaudeau (FRA/EUC) 0:00.

127. Cyril Gautier (FRA/EUC) 0:00.

128. Pierrick Fedrigo (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.

129. Michael Rogers (AUS/SKY) 0:00.

130. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ/AST) 0:00.

131. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

132. Stuart O'Grady (AUS/GEC) 0:00.

133. Laurens ten Dam (NED/RAB) 0:00.

134. Gorka Izagirre (ESP/EUS) 0:00.

135. Jens Voigt (GER/RSH) 0:00.

136. Frank Schleck (LUX/RSH) 0:00.

137. Maxime Bouet (FRA/ALM) 0:00.

138. Chris Horner (USA/RSH) 0:00.

139. Karsten Kroon (NED/SAX) 0:00.

140. Kristjan Koren (SLO/LIQ) 0:00.

141. Nicki Sorensen (DEN/SAX) 0:00.

142. Amal Moinard (FRA/BMC) 0:00.

143. Yury Trofimov (RUS/KAT) 0:00.

144. Jan Ghyselinck (BEL/COF) 0:00.

145. Daniel Martin (IRL/GRM) 0:00.

146. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 0:00.

147. Marco Marzano (ITA/LAM) 0:20.

148. Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ/AST) 0:20.

149. Giampaolo Caruso (ITA/KAT) 0:20.

150. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/LTB) 0:20.

151. Julien Simon (FRA/SAU) 0:20.

152. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/MOV) 0:20.

153. Richie Porte (AUS/SKY) 0:20.

154. Johannes Frhlinger (GER/ARG) 0:20.

155. Yohann Gene (FRA/EUC) 0:20.

156. Cedric Pineau (FRA/FDJ) 0:20.

157. Sylvester Szmyd (POL/LIQ) 0:20.

158. Lars Ytting Bak (DEN/LTB) 0:20.

159. Jimmy Engoulvent (FRA/SAU) 0:20.

160. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/EUC) 0:20.

161. Joan Horrach (ESP/KAT) 0:20.

162. Christophe Kern (FRA/EUC) 0:20.

163. Sergio Paulinho (POR/SAX) 0:20.

164. Aliaksandr Kuschynski (BLR/KAT) 0:20.

165. Amets Txurruka (ESP/EUS) 0:20.

166. Nicolas Edet (FRA/COF) 0:20.

167. Gustav Erik Larsson (SWE/VAC) 0:20.

168. Jeremy Roy (FRA/FDJ) 0:20.

169. Michael Albasini (SUI/GEC) 0:20.

170. David Zabriskie (USA/GRM) 0:20.

171. David Moncouti (FRA/COF) 0:20.

172. Michael Schr (SWI/BMC) 0:20.

173. Roy Curvers (NED/ARG) 0:20.

174. Matthew Lloyd (AUS/LAM) 0:20.

175. Stephen Cummings (GBR/BMC) 0:20.

176. Jrgen Roelandts (BEL/LTB) 0:28.

177. Daniel Oss (ITA/LIQ) 0:29.

178. Christian Knees (GER/SKY) 0:38.

179. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 0:51.

180. Michael Morkov (DEN/SAX) 0:54.

181. Kris Boeckmans (BEL/VAC) 0:57.

182. Marcel Sieberg (GER/LTB) 1:08.

183. Albert Timmer (NED/ARG) 2:10.

184. Francis de Greef (BEL/LTB) 2:10.

185. Adam Hansen (AUS/LTB) 2:10.

186. Manuel Quinziato (ITA/BMC) 2:10.

187. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 2:10.

188. Cyril Lemoine (FRA/SAU) 0:00.

189. Marcus Burghardt (GER/BMC) 2:37.

190. Tony Martin (GER/OPQ) 4:22.

191. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/RAB) 4:22.

192. Anthony Roux (FRA/FDJ) 4:22.

193. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 4:22.

194. Yann Huguet (FRA/ARG) 6:33.

195. Mathieu Sprick (FRA/ARG) 6:33.

196. Marcel Kittel (GER/ARG) 6:33.

197. Sbastian Langeveld (NED/GEC) 6:33.

198. Brice Feillu (FRA/SAU) 9:55.