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Team Columbia-HTC takes advantage of a lax peloton and breaks away. Delivering their sprinter Mark Cavendish to the line for another win, Cavendish’s second win in just as many days.

Lance Armstrong finished with the break away group and moves up 7 spots to third overall. Fabian Cancellara remains in the Maillot Jaune.

Prior to the race, Astana was fined 65 Euros for not signing in on time. Race director Jean-Francois Pescheux had this to say, “How typical that this team were late. It is disrespectful to the public who came here just to see Armstrong, the money makes no difference to them. We will ask the UCI (the sport’s governing body) to make the fines harder.”

Stage 3 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC - 5:01:24
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
3 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano
4 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
5 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
7 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram
8 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano
9 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel
10 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram
11 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana
12 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano
13 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
14 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
15 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC
16 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC
17 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - HTC
18 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC
19 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
20 Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano
21 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC
22 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
23 Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano
24 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana
25 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC

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Team Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish adds another stage win to his career total of 5 at stage 2 of this year’s Tour de France. A group of 4 riders enjoyed a breakway leading into the final kilometers, only to be caught when Cavendish’s team moved to the front of the peloton to aid Team Saxo Bank in the chase. Saxo Banks Fabian Cancellara remains in the Maillot Jaune.

Stage 2 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC 4:30:02
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
3 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
6 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
7 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano
10 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

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Team Saxo Bank’s Swiss tempo specialist, Fabian Cancellara, put all competitors behind him on today’s first stage of the Tour de France where Alberto Contador was dropped by 18 seconds on the 15.5 kilometer long course in the streets of Monaco. In the intermediate, on top of today’s category 4 climb the Swiss road race champion was several seconds behind Alberto Contador, but on descent and on the flat road to the finish line the man from Berne clearly demonstrated who is the king of the race against the clock.

The team’s hope for the GC, Andy Schleck, also did a good time trial and lost only one minute to his team mate which made him 18th on the stage.

“It was a fantastic victory and I am immensely happy to be wearing the yellow jersey after the initial time trial for the third time in my Tour de France history. I was aware that being the favorite to win heavu expectations were on my shoulders but I work well under pressure. I had a perfect charging prior to the race, the team has given me the necessary peace, and today was just about doing what I do best. I am obviously looking very much forward to starting in the leader’s jersey tomorrow”, said a delighted Fabian Cancellara after his supreme victory.

And team owner Bjarne Riis, was entirely satisfied with his team after the sublime opening of the course:

“Fabian has once again shown his amazing abilities in time trialing. We opened the Tour de France with a big bang and nobody can seriously doubt that we have had a dream start in this year’s edition of the season’s major objective”, said a happy Bjarne Riis after watching his rider winning the first showdown in the 96th edition of the Tour de France.

Fabian Cancellara will wear the very first Maillot Jaune of the 2009 Tour de France with a dominating performance in stage 1’s time trial through Monaco. Eighteen seconds ahead of tour favorite Alberto Contador and a minute and six seconds ahead of defending champion Carlos Sastre.

Seven time champion Lance Armstrong made his return to the Tour de France with a solid performance earlier in the day and held the number 1 slot briefly.

Lance Armstrong’s return to the Tour after 3 years off…

General classification after stage 1
1. CANCELLARA Fabian - TEAM SAXO BANK - 19′ 32″
2. CONTADOR Alberto - ASTANA - + 00′ 18″
3. WIGGINS Bradley - GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM - + 00′ 19″
4. KLÖDEN Andréas - ASTANA - + 00′ 22″
5. EVANS Cadel - SILENCE - LOTTO - + 00′ 23″
6. LEIPHEIMER Levi - ASTANA - + 00′ 30″
7. KREUZIGER Roman - LIQUIGAS - + 00′ 32″
8. MARTIN Tony - TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC - + 00′ 33″
9. NIBALI Vincenzo - LIQUIGAS - + 00′ 37″
10. ARMSTRONG Lance - ASTANA - + 00′ 40″

Full results here..

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By Stepahnie Gutowski

Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia-HTC) had an incredible 2008. Not only did he win Fleche Wallone, but he wore the coveted yellow jersey at the Tour de France for three stages.

In 2009, he fell during the 4th stage of the Tour of California after the sleeve of his jacket got caught in the spokes of his wheel as he was trying to remove the garment. He fractured his shoulder and collarbone. Kirchen’s injury prevented him from racing in his favorite Ardennes Classics. He was the defending Fleche Wallone champion. After going through shoulder surgery and recuperating his injuries, Kirchen came back to win stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse last month.

We spoke prior earlier in the season about his successes in 2008 and about riding the Tour de France in 2009.

The successes of 2008….
I have always been focused on the Classics. I was really close two years ago in Fleche Wallone. For me it’s always a goal of mine to get better each year. I know what I need to do physically and the team is also maturing. We do work a lot on working as a team. I am 30 years old and have a lot of experience now. All of these factors together allowed me to be successful last year.

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- A RECORD-EIGHT TDF TEAMS WILL TAKE THE START LINE ON FI’ZI:K SADDLES-

Pozzoleone, Italy – For the first time in Tour de France history, fi’zi:k saddles is dominating the peloton as the premiere saddle supplier and sponsor to participating Pro Tour and Pro Continental teams. Of the twenty select 2009 Tour de France teams, 8 will be riding fi’zi:k saddles.

Amplified support of professional teams comes not only the heels of increased global original equipment specification, but more so from increased demand from road teams for the premiere brand. As an example, one of the non-official-fi’zi:k-sponsored TdF Pro Tour teams, has twenty team members using their brand.

Many of the 2009 Tour de France teams will using the new ultra light Antares road saddle as well as the recently introduced Ares time trail saddle. Among those cyclists using the new Antares and the new Ares is defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre who, after testing the final Ares version earlier this summer said, “It’s now perfect. I definitely noticed the difference between the first and final versions.” Dave Zabriskie, US National Time Trial Champion, joins Sastre in choosing both the Antares and Ares; and most of the entire Columbia-High Road will be riding the Ares time trial saddle when they line up in Montpelier on July 7th in attempt to maintain their title as the world’s number one time trial team following their 2009 Giro d’Italia TTT victory.

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Official Start List -

AG2R La Mondiale

• 1 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa)
• 2 Cyril Dessel (Fra)
• 3 Hubert Dupont (Fra)
• 4 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus)
• 5 Stéphane Goubert (Fra)
• 6 Lloyd Mondory (Fra)
• 7 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita)
• 8 Christophe Riblon (Fra)
• 9 Nicholas Roche (Irl)

Agritubel

• 11 Maxime Bouet (Fra)
• 12 Sylvain Calzati (Fra)
• 13 Brice Feillu (Fra)
• 14 Romain Feillu (Fra)
• 15 Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Spa)
• 16 David Lelay (Fra)
• 17 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra)
• 18 Christophe Moreau (Fra)
• 19 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra)

Astana

• 21 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa)
• 22 Lance Armstrong (USA)
• 23 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
• 24 Levi Leipheimer (USA)
• 25 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)
• 26 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por)
• 27 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
• 28 Grégory Rast (Swi)
• 29 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa)

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