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 Saturday, May 14th |
| Stage 2Château-Thierry > Clermont - 192 km |
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| The king is back |
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 Tom Boonen sprints to stage victory. The Belgian takes command of the overall standings. |
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 Horrible weather when the riders take off from Château-Thierry for the second stage of the Tour de Picardie. But not really worried about these dreadful conditions, it is at a very high pace that the 133 riders take on the 192 kilometres of the day's race all the way to Clermont. The start is immediately eventful with attacks by numbers including those of Patour or Tombak. But at every single attempt, the pack reacts decisively.
At kilometres 61, Bodrogi (C.A), Monnier (COF), who had already given it a go earlier, and Calzati (A2R) manage to break away. They quickly enjoy a nice advantage on the pack and are caught by three other riders at kilometre 65: Bergès (AGR), Bouquet (MRB) and Mederel (AUB). The six riders unit their efforts and have a 1'25'' lead at the first intermediate sprint of the day in Bailly (km 73) won by Bodrogi ahead of Bergès and Bouquet. Their lead grows: 2'30 in Ribécourt-Dreslincourt (km 76), 3' in Saint-Albin (km 85) and over 4' at the exit of the feeding zone in Lassigny (km 92).
In the first positions of the pack, the chase starts organising. The Cofidis riders move to the front and ease up the pace. The gap drops to 2'45 in la Sucrerie (km 120). The leading men carry on their efforts and earn a few extra seconds. The gap however stabilises before dropping again: 2'30 in Noroy (km 130,5) and then 2'10 at the exit of Avrechy (km 137,5). At that moment, Camille Bouquet suffers a fall and is eventually caught back by the pack at kilometre 138.
Just outside Saint-Rémy-en-l'eau (km 140,5), while the leader's advantage goes under the 2' mark, Calzati takes off immediately chased by Médérel. Together both men have a slight lead on Bodrogi and Berges (15'') but are eventually caught back. Meanwhile Monnier fails to keep up with the pace and is eventually “crunched”  by the pack at kilometre 154,5.
The four remaining leaders make it at the first passage on the line with a 2' advantage on their followers. Bodrogi earns the bonus seconds of the second intermediate sprint, beating Médérel and Calzati. But their fate seems sealed with the pack moving closer. At kilometre 163, the gap is only of 1'35. Calzati and Médérel again decide to attack. Only Berges manages to catch up while Bodrogi is dropped and caught by the pack.
With 20 kilometres to go, the front men have a 1' lead. The peloton led by the Quickstep and  Davitamon-Lotto teams carries on the chase. The escapees are eventually caught with 18 kilometres to go. On the final circuit, the pace eases up even more with Steegmans wanting to keep hold of his yellow jersey and Boonen, Casper and Nazon hoping for a first win. With under 3 kilometres to go, a fall occurs involving Steegmans. In the final straight, Boonen proves to be the strongest despite an excellent sprint of Napolitano. The Quick Step rider, already a winner in 2004, therefore takes the overall leader's yellow jersey.
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| Stage winner |
Tom BOONEN |
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| Overall |
Tom BOONEN |
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| Points |
Tom BOONEN |
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| Best young |
Tom BOONEN |
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| Fighting spirit |
Stéphane BERGÈS |
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| Best team |
Auber 93 |
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| Starters' list | Time schedules |
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