“It was a good win and I surprised myself,” the former world champion said following his victory. “I’ve had a hard couple of weeks after the worlds for the motivation but I still did the good training that I had to do, so to win here today couldn’t be better,” Hushovd said.
Orica GreenEdge hit the front of the peloton in the final few kilometres in a bid to add to Michael Matthews’ growing victory tally, before Matt Brammeier (Champion System) moved ahead with one kilometre to go. There was a second surge from the Australian team on the slight downhill run to the finish, and it was then that a glimpse of Hushovd could be spotted around sixth wheel.
Speedsters Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) and Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) then dueled at the front, before Mezgec and Matthews looked to be battling for stage honours before Hushovd came around the back of the Argos-Shimano rider for a narrow victory.
“It was a large road and really fast with a slight downhill,” Hushovd explained. “I think I just had a perfect run. I was a bit behind and I got some slipstream and in the last couple of metres I was able to pass, I can’t remember who, but I got just in front of him.”
Hushovd will wear the red leader’s jersey in tomorrow’s second stage, courtesy of the win and the 35-year-old is hopeful of retaining the lead for at least another day. “At least we will try to keep it tomorrow then it’s two hard stages and we’ll see what happens. I’ll do my best.”
The Road to Huairou
The 190.5 km stage got underway under clear, sunny skies at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. A brief period of neutral was ended with direct action from the peloton, with attacks from the drop of the flag.
Four riders were able to open a small gap of around 200 metres on the peloton with Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil-DCM), Ryota Nishizono (Champion System), Sander Cordeel (Lotto Belisol) and Davide Vigano (Cannondale) moving clear.
It was a fast start to the race, with the pace at 50km/h after 6km, the breakaway out to an advantage of nearly two minutes. A brisk tailwind certainly provided some assistance early in the stage.
Vigano took maximum points on the first sprint of the day at 39.5km, but Wauters succeeded on the remaining two, so it’s the Belgian who will wear the green jersey heading into stage two.
Cordeel, who took the lone KOM of the day and therefore the polka dot jersey, said that it was a day for taking chances.
“It’s always nice to have a jersey for one day but if you don’t believe in it you will stay the entire stage in the peloton and you will see boring races so you have to go for it.”
Teams from Cannondale and FDJ.Fr would do the bulk of the work back in the peloton, however the four escapees would be allowed to move out to an advantage of 8:55 with 40km of racing complete before the gap slowly started coming back.
Shortly before the 120km mark, Vigano’s efforts pulling turns in the break ceased. Soon after, the reason was clear, with the Italian pulling off to the side of the road for an extended nature break.
The break’s strength again took a hit when Wauters was dropped with around 35km left to race, but Nishizoni too struggled to stick with Cordeel who ploughed on ahead solo. It was an effort that would also earn him the most aggressive prize for the stage.
“The thing is, you can ride as fast as you want but in the end it’s the peloton who decides how much time you’ll get,” he explained. “We did a good tempo… I said to the guys ‘save yourself for the last 40kms’ but when I went they didn’t follow.
“For one moment I really thought maybe I had a small chance but at the end you’re so tired you’re glad the peloton is there so you can stop pedaling,” he continued. “My legs are hurting.”
Cordeel was eventually caught with five kilometres remaining in the stage with BMC taking responsibility at the front of the peloton to get their man over the line.
Time bonuses give Hushovd a three-second lead in the general classification over Wauters, with another second back to Mezgec. Two-time defending champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) finished in the main bunch but had a 10 second deficit to Hushovd overall.
Nacer 
The flying Frenchman was too fast for Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) and Mitch Docker (Orica GreenEdge) in the sprint in Yanqing.
The win on Saturday gives the 23-year-old both his 10th victory of the season and the overall lead in the final UCI WorldTour event of the year. Stage one winner Thor Hushovd (BMC) finished safely in the bunch in 27th place behind Bouhanni, with the pair on equal time on general classification.
“It was difficult but I had a good team around me to help me get back after each climb and Dominque Rollin was very helpful in the final,” said Bouhanni, who does not expect to hold on to the overall with more climbing on the agenda tomorrow.
“The victory at Paris-Nice was certainly a big victory, I got the yellow jersey but this one is a good victory,” he continued. “Any victory is good to take.”
The longest stage of the Tour, it was an aggressive start to the 201.5km day in Huairou Studio City, with plenty of attacks animating the opening 500 metres of racing once the flag dropped.
Former third overall in the Giro d’Italia, Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM) was the first man in clear air off the front, and was soon joined by Massimo Graziato (Lampre-Merida), Chad Beyer (Champion System), Olivier Kaisen (Lotto Belisol) and Maxime Bouet (AG2R-La Mondiale).
With no chase from the peloton, the quintet was free to set the benchmarks for the stage, the bunch seemingly content to let the group ride until the lumpy terrain evened out with just under 50km remaining.
In the shadows of The Great Wall of China, which punctuated the early kilometres of racing with its majesty along the granite peaks on Beijing’s outskirts, the peloton allowed the escape group to build a lead of just under five minutes with two KOMs in the first 30km.
De Gendt’s climbing prowess, so disappointingly missing this season, was on show on Saturday, with the Belgian pushed all the way by the American Beyer. De Gendt took maximum points on the first two climbs. With Vacansoleil-DCM closing operations following the Tour of Beijing, the Dutch team is on a mission this week. On yesterday’s opening stage, it was Willem Wauters in the break, today it was De Gent’s turn.
“It’s been a tough year for us and now it’s our last stage race so we want to give it our best and hopefully we can still win a stage or keep a jersey,” he explained at the finish.
“From the beginning I knew it was very hard to beat the sprinter’s team so my main objective was to get the mountains jersey.”
De Gendt and Beyer worked well together, the pair coming to an arrangement on the road whereby the latter was allowed to take an extra second when it came to the third and final sprint of the day.
“He asked me if he could have the one second at the intermediate sprint and I said no problems, he gave me the points on the last climb so we still like each other,” De Gendt explained with a smile.
With the gap down to 2:30 following the last climb of the day, and the pressure from the BMC-led peloton slowly building, cracks began to appear in the breakaway with the KOM jersey safely in De Gendt’s hands. Kaisen and Bouet opening a gap of just over a minute on their companions. Graziato was dropped altogether, with several members of the team struggling in the cars, and day one escapee Davide Vigano forced to abandon.
The break’s day was finally brought to an end with 191kms of racing complete, leaving the sprinter’s teams to fight it out for the victory. Argos-Shimano led the charge for the line with two kilometres to go, while Omega Pharma – Quick-Step had set up camp on the other side of the road. While the two European-based squads looked at each other, it was the Australian champion, Luke Durbridge who shot through the centre of the bunch for Orica GreenEdge to begin their lead-out. Cameron Meyer was then on his own with no teammate able to follow his wheel, FDJ hit the front with Ferrari unable to come around the wheel of Bouhanni.
Stage Three – Yanqing – Qianjiadian Chio Yang Temple
The 2013 Tour of Beijing continues Sunday with the 176km third stage the first true test of the event with the Si Hai climb, the first of three Cat. 1’s in the race and one of seven climbs tomorrow, set to put some real pressure on the overall contenders. At 7.4km in length and 5.1% gradient, it’s not super-long but the first significant time gaps should appear. The race will also pass through The Great Wall at the start of the Si Hai climb.
Results
Stage 1 – Oct. 11 – Shunyi to Huairou Studio City 190.5km
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 4:20:34
2. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
3. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
4. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
6. Enrique Sanz (Esp) Movistar Team
7. Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha
8. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ.fr
9. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol
10. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
11. Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha
12. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
13. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale
14. Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
15. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
16. Jang Chan Jae (Kor) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
17. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
18. Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha
19. Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
20. Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
21. Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
22. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ.fr
23. Dominik Nerz (Ger) BMC Racing Team
24. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr
25. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
26. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
27. Jesus Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
28. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
29. Jiao Pengda (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
30. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
31. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
32. Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
33. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
34. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
35. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
36. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
37. Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard
38. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
39. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
40. Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida
41. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp
42. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Esp) Movistar Team
43. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
44. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
45. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr
46. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
47. Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
48. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
49. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Sky Procycling
50. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
51. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp
52. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
53. Ji Cheng (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano
54. Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto Belisol
55. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
56. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
57. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team
58. Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
59. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
60. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
61. Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
62. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
63. Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
64. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack Leopard
65. Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) AG2R La Mondiale
66. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto Belisol
67. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
68. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
69. Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
70. Xing Yan Dong (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano
71. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
72. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
73. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
74. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
75. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
76. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
77. Matthias Krizek (Aut) Cannondale Pro Cycling
78. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
79. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
80. Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Esp) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
81. Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard
82. Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
83. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
84. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
85. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
86. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
87. Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
88. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
89. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Katusha
90. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
91. Nick Nuyens (Bel) Garmin-Sharp
92. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team
93. Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling
94. Xu Gang (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
95. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team
96. Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
97. Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
98. Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Esp) Movistar Team
99. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
100. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
101. Evan Huffman (USA) Astana Pro Team
102. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
103. Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
104. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Garmin-Sharp
105. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
106. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
107. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling
108. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
109. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
110. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
111. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
112. Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
113. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
114. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
115. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
116. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
117. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ.fr
118. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
119. Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol
120. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
121. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha
122. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
123. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ.fr
124. Liu Biao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
125. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Argos-Shimano
126. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
127. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
128. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling
129. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ.fr
130. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
131. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
132. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr
133. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
134. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
135. Ian Boswell (USA) Sky Procycling
136. Alex Dowsett (Gbr) Movistar Team
137. Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
138. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
139. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
140. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
141. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
142. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
143. Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
144. Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:43
145. Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:46
146. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:52
147. Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Sharp
148. Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0
149. Andrea Palini (Ita) Lampre-Merida 1:58
150. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 3:22
151. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
152. Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol 4:20
153. Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:10:54
Stage 2 – Oct. 12 – Huairou Studio City to Yanqing 201.5km
1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ.fr 4:59:49
2. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
3. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
4. Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
5. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
6. Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
7. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol
8. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
9. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
10. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
11. Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha
12. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
13. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
14. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale
15. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
16. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr
17. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
18. Jesus Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
19. Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
20. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
21. Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha
22. Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
23. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
24. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
25. Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida
26. Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
27. Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team
28. Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
29. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
30. Enrique Sanz (Esp) Movistar Team
31. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr
32. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
33. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
34. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
35. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
36. Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha
37. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ.fr
38. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
39. Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
40. Dominik Nerz (Ger) BMC Racing Team
41. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
42. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
43. Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
44. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha
45. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ.fr
46. Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
47. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Katusha
48. Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol
49. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
50. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
51. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
52. Alex Dowsett (Gbr) Movistar Team
53. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp
54. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
55. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
56. Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
57. Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
58. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
59. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
60. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp
61. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ.fr
62. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
63. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
64. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Sky Procycling
65. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
66. Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard
67. Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto Belisol
68. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Esp) Movistar Team
69. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70. Xu Gang (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
71. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
72. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr
73. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
74. Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) AG2R La Mondiale
75. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
76. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
77. Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
78. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
79. Ji Cheng (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano
80. Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
81. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
82. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ.fr
83. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
84. Matthias Krizek (Aut) Cannondale Pro Cycling
85. Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
86. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
87. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Garmin-Sharp
88. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
89. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
90. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
91. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
92. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
93. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
94. Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling
95. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Argos-Shimano
96. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team
97. Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
98. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
99. Nick Nuyens (Bel) Garmin-Sharp
100. Jang Chan Jae (Kor) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
101. Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Sharp
102. Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
103. Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
104. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
105. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling
106. Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Esp) Movistar Team
107. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team
108. Evan Huffman (USA) Astana Pro Team
109. Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard
110. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack Leopard
111. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
112. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
113. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto Belisol
114. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
115. Jiao Pengda (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
116. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
117. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
118. Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
119. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
120. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
121. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
122. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
123. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team
124. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
125. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
126. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
127. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
128. Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
129. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
130. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
131. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
132. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
133. Ian Boswell (USA) Sky Procycling
134. Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Esp) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
135. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling
136. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
137. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
138. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
139. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
140. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
141. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
142. Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
143. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
144. Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol
145. Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida
146. Xing Yan Dong (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano 1:17
147. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:41
148. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
149. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre-Merida 2:04
150. Andrea Palini (Ita) Lampre-Merida 2:08
151. Liu Biao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
152. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 3:07
DNF Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre-Merida
GC after Stage 2
1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ.fr 9:20:13
2. Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team
3. Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01
4. Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:03
5. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano 0:04
6. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
7. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:05
8. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:06
9. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
10. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:07
11. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:09
12. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:10
13. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol
14. Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha
15. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
16. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
17. Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
18. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
19. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale
20. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
21. Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha
22. Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
23. Enrique Sanz (Esp) Movistar Team
24. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
25. Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
26. Jesus Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
27. Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha
28. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
29. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
30. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr
31. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ.fr
32. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
33. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr
34. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
35. Dominik Nerz (Ger) BMC Racing Team
36. Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida
37. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
38. Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
39. Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
40. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
41. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
42. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
43. Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
44. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
45. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp
46. Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
47. Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard
48. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
49. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
50. Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
51. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Esp) Movistar Team
52. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp
53. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Sky Procycling
54. Jang Chan Jae (Kor) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
55. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
56. Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto Belisol
57. Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
58. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
59. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
60. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
61. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
62. Ji Cheng (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano
63. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
64. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Katusha
65. Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) AG2R La Mondiale
66. Jiao Pengda (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
67. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
68. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
69. Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
70. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
71. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
72. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
73. Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
74. Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
75. Matthias Krizek (Aut) Cannondale Pro Cycling
76. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
77. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
78. Xu Gang (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
79. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
80. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha
81. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
82. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
83. Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol
84. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
85. Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
86. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ.fr
87. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
88. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack Leopard
89. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
90. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
91. Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
92. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
93. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team
94. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
95. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
96. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
97. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ.fr
98. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
99. Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling
100. Alex Dowsett (Gbr) Movistar Team
101. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
102. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team
103. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
104. Nick Nuyens (Bel) Garmin-Sharp
105. Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard
106. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
107. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Garmin-Sharp
108. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
109. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ.fr
110. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
111. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team
112. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr
113. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
114. Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Esp) Movistar Team
115. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
116. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
117. Evan Huffman (USA) Astana Pro Team
118. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling
119. Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
120. Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Esp) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
121. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
122. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
123. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Argos-Shimano
124. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
125. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
126. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
127. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
128. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
129. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
130. Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
131. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
132. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
133. Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
134. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling
135. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
136. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
137. Ian Boswell (USA) Sky Procycling
138. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
139. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
140. Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:53
141. Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:56
142. Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Sharp 1:02
143. Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
144. Xing Yan Dong (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano 1:27
145. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:51
146. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
147. Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre-Merida 2:13
148. Liu Biao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 2:18
149. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 3:32
150. Andrea Palini (Ita) Lampre-Merida 4:16
151. Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol 4:24
152. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 6:39