The German Marcel Kittel wins the second stage of the Tour de France
The German Marcel Kittel (Quick Step) won the sprint in the second stage of the Tour de France on Sunday in Liege (Belgium), while the British Geraint Thomas (Sky), winner of the time trial in the first stage, remained in the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification.
Chris Froome and Romain Bardet, the top two finishers in the general classification of the 2016 Tour, fell during this stage but without serious injuries.
(Getty)
It was a stage suitable for a mass arrival and the plans were fulfilled, with Kittel being faster in the end than the French champion Arnaud Demare (2nd) and another German, André Greipel (3rd).
Kittel, 29 years old, achieved his tenth stage victory in the Tour de France and also his tenth partial victory of this season. He has been a professional since 2011 and regularly participates in the grand tours, where he has won stages in all three of them (Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, in addition to the Tour).
On Monday, the third stage will unite the Belgian city of Verviers with Longwy, already in France, in a route of 212.5 kilometers with a finish after a small climb.
This is how the Colombians finished in the second stage #TDF2017
Complete classification 👉 https://t.co/CWMBGLSied pic.twitter.com/d6ml1ScAqr
PREVIEW
Tour de France 2017 LIVE: The intense climate of Dusseldorf will continue in the second stage of the race. This Sunday (05:00 am, via ESPN 3), the competitors depart from the German city towards Liege, Belgium, a distance of 203.5 kilometers.
The Colombian Nairo Quintana, from the Movistar team, will seek to leave behind the bad start in the French circuit. The rider from Boyacá finished in 53rd place, 48 seconds behind the German Geraint Thomas, who came in first.
The loss of more than half a minute compared to the British Chris Froome from Sky was a crucial factor for Quintana's performance. Similarly, the withdrawal of his teammate Alejandro Valverde complicates the situation for the Movistar team.
"This situation is very difficult because it makes us change our strategy. It's a shame what has happened to us, but we continue to fight," said the Colombian after crossing the finish line of the time trial in Düsseldorf.