Tirreno-Adriatico – Debusschere wins stage 2

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Chain mishap causes crash as Cavendish pulls foot and Viviani crashes after touching wheels – stage 2 win goes to Debusschere with Bennett 3rd

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Tirreno-Adriatico – Debusschere wins stage 2

There was little doubt stage two in Tirreno-Adriatico would end in a sprint finish, but a jittery peloton raging at full-speed left mangled piles of bodies two times in the final 12 kilometers. “It was a very nervous last 70 kilometers,” explained Bauke Mollema of Trek Factory Racing. “After the prologue, the GC was in reach for many riders and with the bonus seconds offered it made for a very stressful finish.”

Stage 2 featured a 153km parcours from Camariore to Cascina that presented the riders with predominantly flat terrain except two hills early on. A group of seven riders formed today’s breakaway, but it was kept under strict control by Tinkoff-Saxo and Etixx-Quickstep throughout the stage.

In the finale, several crashes made for a hectic finish, and in the end, it was Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal), who won the sprint, while Peter Sagan placed second just behind and Sam Bennett third. The cause of the final crash was down to Cavendish who explained what happened. “Everything was perfect,” Cavendish said. “I was in good position to launch my sprint. But when I tried to go, my chain dropped off from the big chainring to the right, and the momentum from the sudden loss of torque caused me to move right”.

“There’s nothing I could have done to avoid it, and it’s a miracle I didn’t crash. I watched the sprint after the stage in the team bus. I feel sorry for Elia Viviani who went down behind me, and the other guys involved. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”

Peter Sagan sits in second place, happy with the overall performance of the team as well as his improving shape. “I would like to thank the rest of my teammates because we showed we had a strong squad today. The peloton was nervous so we all stayed at the front for the last 40 kilometers of the stage”, says Peter Sagan. Unfortunately, I finished second in the sprint but I feel my form is getting better. I think my stage could come tomorrow. Today, it was very important to stay out of trouble and we had to be very attentive to avoid crashes and injuries. I will go into the third stage standing second overall and we will see what happens”.

Adriano Malori of Movistar leads overall.

STAGE
1. Jens Debusschere, Lotto Soudal 3:30:18
2. Peter Sagan, Tinkoff-Saxo
3. Sam Bennett, Bora-Argon 18
4. Alexander Porsev, Team Katusha
5. Tyler Farrar, MTN – Qhubeka

9. Zakkari Dempster,Bora-Argon 18
14. Mark Cavendish, Etixx – Quick-Step
60. Nairo Quintana, Movistar Team
63. Daniel Martin, Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
65. Fabian Cancellara, Trek Factory Racing
80. Adam Yates, Orica GreenEdge
124. Stephen Cummings, MTN – Qhubeka

OVERALL
1. Adriano Malori, Movistar Team 3:36:22
2. Peter Sagan, Tinkoff-Saxo
3. Fabian Cancellara, Trek Factory Racing 0:00:01
4. Greg Van Avermaet, BMC Racing Team 0:00:02
5. Matthias Brandle, IAM Cycling

9. Stephen Cummings, MTN – Qhubeka 0:00:06
61. Alberto Contador,  Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:19
68. Adam Yates, Orica GreenEdge
74. Nairo Quintana, Movistar Team 0:00:21
114. Daniel Martin, Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
115. Joaquim Rodriguez, Team Katusha 0:00:31

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