The American team completed the route in 24 minutes and 38 seconds, only 4 seconds ahead of BMC. Team Sky rounded off the top three on the same time as BMC and Leopard Trek, in fourth. Hushovd’s teammate David Millar is equal on time with the Norwegian, but as Hushovd crossed the line in front of Millar in stage one, he is the one to don the jersey.
Andy Schleck is in a better position than most of his rivals, with he and his brother, Frank, only four seconds down on Hushovd. Leopard Trek owe much of their performance to, the two time Olympic time-trial champion, Fabian Cancellara, who took several turns on the front. Team Sky’s performance means Geraint Thomas keeps the young rider’s jersey, also on the same time as his teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen. The British team had the edge on the American team at the first split, but slid back over the second half of the course.
First off the line was Alberto Contador and his Saxo Bank team; the Spaniard was in damage limitation mode, after losing over a minute in stage one. The 2010 champion was caught behind a big crash, in the last 8 kilometres, and was unable to rejoin the main group. Contador lost another 20 seconds, with Saxo Bank not quite up to the challenge, but he has kept his title hopes alive.
Philip Gilbert started the morning in the maillot jaune, but lost 39 seconds and the jersey, as Omega Pharma Lotto finished in tenth.
After losing time on Saturday and the legs possibly still hurting from the Giro, Contador has a mountain to climb in more ways than one. His rivals Schleck and Evans are sitting pretty at the moment, making life much more difficult for the Spaniard. Stage three is a 198km ride from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon.
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