Steegmans wins 2nd Tour stage

GHENT – Belgian rider Geert Steegmans won the second stage of the Tour de France, a 168.5km run between Dunkirk in France yesterday.

The Quick Step cyclist prevailed in a bunch sprint marred by a mass pile up which stopped a sizeable portion of the peloton in its tracks three kilometres from the finish. The 26-year-old captured his first Tour de France stage win at the main expense of his teammate Tom Boonen.Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara (CSC) held on to the leader’s yellow jersey after spending a wet day in the saddle as the peloton rode over the southern Belgian coast towards Ghent.The rain could be a prominent factor this week as the race heads back into France for Wednesday’s third stage from Waregem to Compiegne, and the threat of more crashes and race-ending injuries will prove a major factor.After a sunny start to the race in Dunkirk, the rain clouds which had been hovering all morning let loose shortly after the peloton had crossed the nearby border into Belgium.The arm-warmers had already been on before German Marcel Sieberg of the Milram team pulled off the front of the bunch and attacked, but soon the rainjackets came on as well.With 150km of the 168.5km stage still to ride, he was never going to get far on his own.He was later joined by Spaniard Ruben PerezNampa-AFPThe 26-year-old captured his first Tour de France stage win at the main expense of his teammate Tom Boonen.Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara (CSC) held on to the leader’s yellow jersey after spending a wet day in the saddle as the peloton rode over the southern Belgian coast towards Ghent.The rain could be a prominent factor this week as the race heads back into France for Wednesday’s third stage from Waregem to Compiegne, and the threat of more crashes and race-ending injuries will prove a major factor.After a sunny start to the race in Dunkirk, the rain clouds which had been hovering all morning let loose shortly after the peloton had crossed the nearby border into Belgium.The arm-warmers had already been on before German Marcel Sieberg of the Milram team pulled off the front of the bunch and attacked, but soon the rainjackets came on as well.With 150km of the 168.5km stage still to ride, he was never going to get far on his own.He was later joined by Spaniard Ruben Perez Nampa-AFP