March 10, 2015 (Saint-Amand-Montrond, France) – Andre Greipel avenged his previous day’s disappointment with a copybook sprint victory in the second stage of Paris-Nice on Tuesday. The German champion, who had never previously raised his arms on the Race to the Sun, was perfectly led out in the finale to St Amand-Montornd by his Lotto-Soudal team-mate Greg Henderson and never really looked in danger. French champion Arnaud Demare launched a brave effort in the last stretch but its was only good enough for second place. Greipel’s compatriot John Degenkolb was third and moved to the same spot overall, only two seconds behind yellow jersey holder Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland and Australia’s Rohan Dennis.

Minute of silence

The Paris-Nice peloton held a minute of silence at the start of the  stage in memory of the ten persons, including  three French athletes, killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina on Monday.
Arnaud Gerard (BSE) surged after one kilometre to quickly fin himself on his own. The Frenchman timed his effort and held a maximum lead of 8:25 (km 54) over a peloton obviously happy to wait for the finale at a leisurely pace. The first intermediate sprint of the day (km 57.5) enabled Alexander Kristoff to grab two seconds and two points while John Degenkolb collected one second. As a a result, the Norwegian secured the points green jersey.

Degenkolb and Hivert collect

The bunch almost made it back on Gerard’s heels for the second intermediate sprint in St Amand Montrond (Km 127.5) which saw Degenkolb pick two more seconds while Michael Matthews (OGE) took one. On the only climb of the day, Cote de la Tour (Km 131), Gerard led the peloton by 35 seconds, ahead of Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and KOM leader Jonathan Hivert (BSE), who narrowly retained his polka-dot jersey.

Three  former leaders

While Gilbert and Hivert, helped by Laurens De Vrees (AST), tried to chase briefly, the pack regained control at kilometer 135 as the race regrouped. Gerard had remained 134 km alone in front.  As the peloton was now gearing up for the final sprint, Bryan Coquard (EUC), third yesterday, was briefly halted by a mechanical (km 160). As the sprinters were holding their breath, Tony Martin (EQS) surged, quickly followed by two other strong finishers, Geraint Thomas (SKY) and Lars Boom (AST), three former yellow jersey holder on Paris-Nice. Despite their brave attempt, the trio were quashed just as the red flame was in sight.

Perfect lead-out for Greipel

The stage was set for another bunch sprint and the Lotto-Soudal team-mates of Greipel, who had perfectly organised the chase, were fastest in action. Ideally placed in the last stretch,  Greg Henderson perfectly launched his leader, who delivered for his second win of the season after a stage in the Tour of Algarve. Wednesday’s third stage to St Pourcain-sur-Sioule should again be ideal terrain for a mass sprint.

Results

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 4:30:18
2. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
3. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
4. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team
6. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
7. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
8. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
9. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
10. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida
11. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr
12. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
13. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
14. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
15. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
16. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
17. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
18. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
19. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
20. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step
21. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
22. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
23. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
24. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
25. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
26. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team
27. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
28. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal
29. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
30. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
31. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
32. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
33. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
34. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky
35. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team
36. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr
37. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
38. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
39. Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge
40. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
41. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
42. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
43. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
44. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
45. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo
46. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha
47. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
48. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
49. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
50. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
51. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
52. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
53. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
54. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
55. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
56. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
57. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
58. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
59. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
60. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
61. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
62. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team
63. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
64. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
65. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Lampre-Merida
66. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida
67. Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
68. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
69. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling
71. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lampre-Merida
72. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
73. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
74. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
75. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
76. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
77. Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar
78. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha
79. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
80. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica GreenEdge
81. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar Team
82. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
83. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
84. Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
85. Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team
86. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
87. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
88. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
89. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky
90. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
91. Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar
92. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha
93. Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
94. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
95. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
96. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
97. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
98. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling
99. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
100. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
101. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
102. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
103. Benat Intxausti (Esp) Movistar Team
104. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
105. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr
106. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
107. Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
108. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky
109. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo
110. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
111. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
112. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
113. Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
114. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
115. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
116. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
117. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
118. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing
119. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
120. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr
121. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
122. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
123. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
124. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
125. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
126. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
127. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
128. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
129. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ.fr
130. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge 00:23
131. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
132. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 00:24
133. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
134. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step 00:27
135. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar
136. Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar
137. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar
138. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
139. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
140. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
141. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge
142. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky
143. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr
144. Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
145. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
146. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
147. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
148. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr 00:33
149. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin 00:42
150. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing 00:53
151. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
152. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 01:12
153. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling 01:26
154. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
155. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge 02:08
156. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 03:38
157. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 03:39
158. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 05:14
General classification after stage 2
# Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 9:53:16
2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
3. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 00:02
4. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step 00:07
5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 00:09
6. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team 00:10
7. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
8. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
9. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 00:13
10. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
11. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 00:14
12. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
13. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 00:15
14. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 00:16
15. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
16. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Lampre-Merida
17. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 00:17
18. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
19. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 00:18
20. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
21. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
22. Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 00:19
23. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team 00:20
24. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
25. Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team
26. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:21
27. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal
28. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
29. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
30. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
31. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing 00:22
32. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
33. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
34. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
35. Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 00:23
36. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 00:24
37. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
38. Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
39. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 00:25
40. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
41. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
42. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team 00:26
43. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
44. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar Team
45. Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 00:27
46. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team 00:28
47. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
48. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
49. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida
50. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha
51. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
52. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky 00:29
53. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr
54. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
55. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling
56. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling
57. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
58. Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar
59. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 00:30
60. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 00:31
61. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
62. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr
63. Benat Intxausti (Esp) Movistar Team
64. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lampre-Merida
65. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha 00:32
66. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo
67. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 00:33
68. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
69. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
70. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
71. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 00:34
72. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
73. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo
74. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:35
75. Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
76. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
77. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
78. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha 00:36
79. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
80. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
81. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 00:37
82. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
83. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
84. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
85. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 00:38
86. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
87. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
88. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
89. Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge
90. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 00:39
91. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr 00:40
92. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
93. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
94. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
95. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
96. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha
97. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 00:41
98. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica GreenEdge
99. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky 00:42
100. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr 00:43
101. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
102. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida 00:44
103. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
104. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 00:45
105. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
106. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 00:46
107. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
108. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
109. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
110. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 00:47
111. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
112. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 00:48
113. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 00:49
114. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha 00:50
115. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 00:53
116. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:55
117. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida
118. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
119. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
120. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
121. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal 00:56
122. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
123. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
124. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:59
125. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
126. Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar 01:00
127. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
128. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 01:04
129. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar 01:06
130. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ.fr
131. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr 01:08
132. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 01:09
133. Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 01:13
134. Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 01:16
135. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 01:20
136. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 01:22
137. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 01:28
138. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin 01:30
139. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 01:34
140. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar 01:39
141. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing 01:40
142. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 01:45
143. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 01:57
144. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling 02:00
145. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 02:02
146. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge
147. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr 02:07
148. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 02:09
149. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 02:10
150. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 02:12
151. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 02:19
152. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 02:40
153. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 02:43
154. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge
155. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge 02:44
156. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 04:23
157. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 04:38
158. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 05:50