Stage 2 Presents An Early Test In This Year's Tour

Normally, stage 2 of the Tour de France is a fairly flat and non-eventful race designed to let the sprinters show off their speed at the finish. That was not the case this year, as stage 2 had nine category climbs (with the last coming very close to the end of the race). The peloton was able to stay together for the most part and reel in breakaway attempts, but Italian Vincenzo Nibali took off with only a couple of kilometers to go and was able to win by a couple of seconds. Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium finished second, and Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland finished in third. Stage 3 will be much better suited for the sprinters, and will be the last stage before the race returns to France. Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Race Leader)
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team
2. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........0' 02"
3. Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium) BMC Racing Team..........0' 02"
4. Michael Albasini (Switzerland) Orica Greenedge..........0' 02"
5. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky..........0' 02"
6. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........0' 02"
7. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Belgium) Lotto-Belisol..........0' 02"
8. Alberto Contador (Spain) Tinkoff-Saxo..........0' 02"
9. Tejay Van Garderen (United States) BMC Racing Team..........0' 02"
10. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana Pro Team..........0' 02"
11. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain) Movistar Team..........0' 02"
12. Tiago Machado (Portugal) Team Netapp-Endura..........0' 02"
13. Rui Alberto Costa (Portugal) Lampre-Merida..........0' 02"
14. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........0' 02"
15. Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spain) Trek Factory Racing..........0' 02"
16. Richie Porte (Australia) Team Sky..........0' 02"
17. Jean-Christophe Peraud (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........0' 02"
18. Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spain) Team Sky..........0' 02"
19. Tony Gallopin (France) Lotto-Belisol..........0' 02"
20. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quik Step..........0' 02"
21. Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........0' 02"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........69 pts
2. Bryan Coquard (France) Team Europcar..........47 pts
3. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Team Giant-Shimano..........45 pts
4. Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium) BMC Racing Team..........31 pts
5. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team..........30 pts
6. Ramunas Navardauskas (Lithuania) Garmin-Sharp..........30 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Cyril Lemoine (France) Cofidis, Solutions Credits..........6 pts
2. Blel Kadri (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........5 pts
3. Jens Voigt (Germany) trek Factory Racing..........4 pts
4. Nicolas Edet (France) Cofidis, Solutions Credits..........4 pts

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale
2. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........0' 00"
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........0' 00'

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Team Sky (Great Britain)
2. Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan)..........0' 12"
3. BMC Racing (United States)..........0' 14"
4. Team Netapp-Endura (Germany)..........0' 47"
5. Trek Factory Racing (United States)..........0' 47"
6. Cannondale (Italy)..........0' 47"