Belgian rider Jan Bakelants pulled away close to the finish line to win Sunday’s Second Stage of the Tour de France and take the race leader’s yellow jersey. Slovakian Peter Sagan was second and Pole Michal Kwiatowski finished third.
Bakelants made his move with a few hundred meters remaining and the RadioShack rider did enough to withstand a late charge from Sagan. German sprinter Marcel Kittel started the day in the lead after winning Saturday’s crash-marred First Stage, but the rolling hills took their toll and he finished way behind.
The 156km trek started from Bastia and after four moderate climbs, finished in Ajaccio.
The day’s last climb up Cote du Salario was much shorter than the other ones but far steeper.
The driver of the Orica-GreenEdge team bus that blocked the finish line to the opening stage of the 100th Tour de France on Saturday has apologised for the incident, which sparked a chaotic finish to the stage as riders arrived in Bastia.
