Gert Steegmans worked with team captain Tom Boonen to take the sprint finish in front of their countrymen in Gent, Belgium. Steven De Jongh led Steegmans and then Boonen to the line but it was the former who was allowed to take the win, the 26 year-old's first win in the Tour de France.
A crashed marred the final kilometres, holding up many sprinters and Maillot Jaune Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC). The Swiss still holds the race lead but will need to be checked for possible injuries.
"There was no one coming and when there is a chance like that he should be able take it," said Boonen of Steegmans after the finish. "He has done a lot for me in the past."
Stage 2 Results: Dunkirk To Ghent
1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) QuickStep
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) QuickStep
3 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
4 Robbie Hunter (SA) Barloworld
5 Roman Feilliu (Fra) Agritubel
6 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
7 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram
8 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner
9 Oscar Friere (Spa) Rabobank
10 Sebastien Chavenel (Fra) Cofidis all same time
Overall Classification After Stage 2
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) CSC
2 Andreas Kloeden (Ger) Astana + 13”
3 David Millar (GB) Saunier Duval + 21”
4 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel + 23”
5 Bradley Wiggins (GB) Cofidis + 23”
6 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel + 25”
7 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d’Epargne + 26”
8 Thor Hushovd (Nor ) Credit Agricole + 29”
9 Alexandre Vinolourov (Kaz) Astana + 30”
10 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank + 31”
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