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BRIGNOLES, France — It only took only one hot day along the southeastern French coastline for Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar to continue their expanding sprinter's rivalry.
As the duo has done numerous times Cavendish and Farrar emerged at the front of the peloton at the conclusion of the hot 187-kilometer (116.1-mile) Monaco to Brignoles stage 2 Sunday. Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) of Great Britain was victorious in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 2 seconds.
"I have two goals here. My personal goal is to finish the Tour, and my job, my second goal, is to win stages,” said Cavendish. “I don't think it's wise to go for the green jersey right from the start, so now I've won one stage I want to go all the way to Paris and see if I can win some more and maybe take a last win on the Champs Elysées."
Farrar, competing in the Tour de France for the first time, was second in the massive pack finish. Romain Feillu (AG2R-La Mondiale) of France was third.
Earlier this season, Farrar edged Cavendish for a stage victory in Tirreno-Adriatico. But the Farrar now has three second places in Grand Tours, after finished second in Tour of Italy stages in May.
"I took at a crack at it but Cav was pretty much unbeatable today,“ said Farrar, who tried to close his gap with a move the left of the winner. “Julian (Dean) gave me the perfect position, I really couldn't ask for more.”
Cavendish, generally regarded as the world's best sprinter, claimed his fifth career Tour de France win and 14th win of the season. He won four stages in the race last year.
The entire field, with the exception of the final two riders, finished in the same time. As a results, American title contenders Levi Leipheimer (6th), Lance Armstrong (10th) and Christian Vande Velde (17th) retained their positions after stage 1.
Defending titlist Carlos Sastre is 21st overall, trailing leader Fabian Cancellara (Saxo-Bank) of Switzerland by 1:05.
Despite another second place, Farrar was optimistic.
“I know the form is good, though,” he said. “So, we'll try again tomorrow.”
Farrar remains in 77th position overall, trailing by 1:42.
For sprinters, stage 2, 3 and 5 are ideal routes for pack sprints. In Mondays third stage, riders will pedal 196 kilometers (121.7 miles) from Marseille La Grande-Motte.
Additional Cycling Resources:
- Tour de France Archive (1997-2008): Tour de France/James Raia
- Cycling Features Archive (1997-2008) Cycling/James Raia
- Follow Me on Twitter: The Tour de France/Cycling
- National Cycling Examiner Tour de France Alerts (Free/No Spam): Subscribe to Email
- The Tour Within The Tour de France (E-book). Free preview
Current Top 20 GC Standings:
- 1. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank in 4:49:34
- 2. Alberto Contador Astana in 4:49:52
- 3. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream in 4:49:53 at 00:19
- 4. Andréas KlÖden Astana in 4:49:56 at 00:22
- 5. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto in 4:49:57 at 00:23
- 6. Levi Leipheimer Astana in 4:50:04 at 00:30
- 7. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas in 4:50:06 at 00:32
- 8. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc in 4:50:07 at 00:33
- 9. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas in 4:50:11 at 00:37
- 10. Lance Armstrong Astana in 4:50:14 at 00:40
- 11. Gustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank in 4:50:15 at 00:41
- 12. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi in 4:50:18 at 00:44
- 13. David Zabriskie Garmin - Slipstream in 4:50:21 at 00:47
- 14. David Millar Garmin - Slipstream in 4:50:22 at 00:48
- 15. Jérôme Coppel Francaise Des Jeux in 4:50:25 at 00:51
- 16. Sylvain Chavanel Quick Step in 4:50:30 at 00:56
- 17. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream in 4:50:31 at 00:57
- 18. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank in 4:50:34 at 01:00
- 19. Linus Gerdemann Team Milram in 4:50:37 at 01:03
- 20. Rémi Pauriol Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne in 4:50:39 at 01:05
