ANTWERP, Belgium -- Marc Wauters staged a
Belgian coup at the Tour de France on Monday, leading in a
16-man break at the end of the 135.69-mile run from Calais
to win the second stage and claim the yellow jersey of race
leader.
The 32-year-old Belgian outpaced Frenchman Arnaud Pretot and
Robert Hunter of South Africa after the group had gained 22
seconds on the chasing pack.
It was a first stage win for Wauters in his ninth Tour de
France and he described the victory as a dream come true.
"It's incredible to win here in my own country," he said.
"The King has already congratulated me. It's a dream for me to win the stage here and the yellow
jersey is a godsend."
Wauters, who was backed by his Rabobank teammate Erik
Dekker on the run-in, had to hold off a stiff challenge from
Stuart O'Grady.
The Australian looked set to claim the yellow jersey as his
four-strong Credit Agricole presence in the leading group worked
hard to keep the pack at bay.
The bonus points for the stage win proved enough to give
Wauters the overall lead, though, leaving O'Grady disappointed.
"My team worked really hard for me," O'Grady sighed. "I'll
look for a win tomorrow."
Lance Armstrong, chasing a third successive victory in the
race, finished safely in the main pack of riders. The American is now 31 seconds down on Wauters but will not be too concerned as he looks forward to the remainder of a race
that will be won in the mountains.
From Calais, the stage passed over the Belgian border at the
60-kilometre stage, and continued through West Flanders, East
Flanders and into Antwerp. The cycling-mad Belgian fans were clearly enjoying the day
and they crowded the feeding zone, hardly allowing enough room
for the riders to pass through.
Moreau's yellow jersey came under early threat from
Estonia's Jaan Kirsipuu, who took the first sprint bonus to move
within a second of the Frenchman in the overall standings.
He did not do enough in the remaining sprints to overtake
Moreau but his 17th place finish in the stage was sufficient
to take the green jersey from Sunday's winner Erik Zabel.
Jacky Durand, the Frenchman who headed a lengthy breakaway
on Sunday, led another escape in stage two as 13 riders attacked
from the 47-km mark. That break never looked like being significant but a split
in the pack did provide a few moments of drama.
Italy's Francesco Casagrande, one of the race favorites,
and Tyler Hamilton of Armstrong's U.S. Postal team were among
those cut off from the leaders before hauling themselves back.
The comic relief on Monday came from Paul Van Hyfte of the
Lotto team, who was allowed to enjoy a few minutes of local hero
worship after breaking from the peloton as they passed through
his home region of Eeklo in Belgium. Van Hyfte, who enjoys a reputation as a joker, sauntered
along at the front for a while, waving happily to the cheering
crowds of fellow Belgians.
Jens Voigt, Servais Knaven and Matteo Frutti then joined him
at the front and that formed the basis of the successful 16-man
breakaway towards the end.
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ALSO SEE
Tour de France results -- Stage 2
Tour de France: Day-by-day
Armstrong third overall after first stage
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