With the first day's stage complete the injury and bruise toll was evident as a great day's racing was marred by the high-speed crashes of a frenetic last two kilometres. But cyclists are a resilient group and bodies can heal over the three weeks of racing. The only casualty was Australian Adam Hansen who crashed early, broke his collarbone but still finished giving weight to the tough reputation earned by efforts such as these. This puts Michael Rogers down one lieutenant which means that there are now three riders who are out of the Tour so far.

Stage two was another chance for the sprinters to redeem themselves. But the parcours (terrain) was not so flat as stage one. Three category 3 climbs and three category 4 climbs were always going to offer the opportunists a chance of escape before the dreaded third stage.

But stage two had a few punches of its own to land and as the heavens opened the race showed some menace as the riders again came down in some high-speed accidents. Most of the riders had falls of some sort after the descent of the Cote du Stockeu caught many out. With the stage won, the bunch called it a truce for the last few kilometres and rolled across the line as one group. There was no sprint.

Who's Hot

Team Radio Shack - After the bunch was split up in the crash they rallied around their leader. The 'red train' got around Lance Armstrong to pace him back to the front. A great example of team work in cycling. They showed up the Team Saxo Bank who took some time to relocate their man.

Sylvain Chavanel - French rider, Belgium bike, Belgian team and Belgian roads made for a great day out for Chavanel who has no doubt ridden himself into another good contract. With carnage behind him he extended his lead, took off like he stole something and won the day. In the Tour fortune favours the bold and Chavanel had to be bold in order to win. A yellow jersey and huge time gap awaited the Frenchman after a brilliant solo ride. Considering he fractured his skull earlier in the year you could say his comeback was now complete.

Who's Not

Andy Schleck - Schleck's run of wretched luck this season continued with yet another crash. Undeterred Schleck got back on his bike and proceeded to chase down the remains of the bunch. Lacking team support he had to make the initial gap on his own. Dropping back the big diesel Jens Voight was a good tactic and helped him get himself back into the race.

Frank Schleck - They do everything together the Schlecks, from ride to crash. Frank went down too and had a hard chase with brother Andy to regain his position.

Mark Cavendish - It's no secret that Cav can't climb. But on the last few climbs of the stage he was quickly dropped and now must wait another day to see if he can open his stage win account. If he ever wants to win the Green Jersey he must adapt and have more when the roads go skyward.

Crashes - Few stages of the Tour have produced so many crashes. The bunch was in total chaos and there was no where to hide. Experienced veterans were going down all over the place with most riders hitting the deck at some point. The big names all crashed yesterday. Armstrong, Wiggins, Evans, Sastre, Schlecks, Hincapie, Kreuzinger and McEwen were all down at some point.

Stage 2 Results - Top 10

Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step   4:40:48

Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale @0:03:56

Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram

Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha

Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram

Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto

Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team

Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram

Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux

Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team HTC - Columbia

General Classification after Stage 2 - Top 10

Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step   10:01:25

Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:57

Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 0:03:07

David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:03:17

Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack 0:03:19

Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:03:20

Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:03:24

Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack 0:03:25

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:03:29

Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:03:32

Other notables and Aussies

13   Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia 0:03:32

16   Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana   0:03:35

19   Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:36

39   Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:03:47

57   Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:03:53

59   Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank   0:03:54

85   Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank   0:04:06

Mountains Classification  (Polka Dot Jersey)

Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step   13   pts

Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 8

Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 8

Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia 5

Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto 4

Points Classification (Green Jersey)

Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step   44   pts

Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 35

Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 34

Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia 30

Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 26

The road ahead

Stage three has long been talked about since the announcement of the route earlier in the year. The real feature of this stage are the 12km of cobblestoned roads that the riders will have to negotiate. The Tour de France normally leaves the cobblestones for the Spring Classics, a series of single day races held each year. The cobbles are in seven different sectors and cover 77.5km of the course.

The route is part of the famous Paris Roubaix course and will put the fear of the cycling gods into the big GC threats and their teams because of how treacherous the terrain can be. Sharp, uneven and totally unpredictable, these 12km could decide the fate of a few riders by day's end.

The big question is what happens if we get another carnage-filled stage? Are they going to neutralise the stage again?