Tour de France Week 2 Overview
Week two brought more carnage, more bad weather, and saw even more top names eliminated from the race. The awaited cobble stage turned out to be a war of attrition thanks to the rainy conditions and this section has a real impact on how the Tour unfolds. Lars Boom took victory on the jolting cobbles.
Week 2 brought in the first real mountain stage, where it seemed as though it would be a battle between Contador and Nibali. However Contador didn’t take well to the rainy descent, breaking his tibula while reaching for an energy bar in his back pocket and forced to abandon the race.
A lot more crashes made the week a real questionable one, with top riders such as Andrew Talansky's and 3rd place rider Tiago Machado being set back.
We also saw some top sprinters – Kittel and Griepel – being dropped by a small climb in Stage 12.
Stage 13 and 14 introduced the Alps and we saw Nibali assert his dominance, winning yet again and gaining time on his rivals. Stage 14 has been labelled as the hardest stage of the tour, thinning the peloton to an elite group of top contenders. Majka took the victory on this stage.
We have our own Tour de France at 5 McColl St – each week taste a dish from one of the regions that the cyclist will be riding through that week. We also have a TV streaming the most recent stage.