Stage Two saw the riders leave from a damp Saint Lô for the rain-soaked 183km stage to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. With four categorised climbs this stage was not exactly one for the out and out climbers, but it was far from flat. Most notably the final 3km were incredibly steep, featuring one section of the Côte de La Glacerie at 14% gradient.
Break of the day featured Vegard Breen of Fortuneo-Vital Concept, Jasper Stuyen of Trek - Segafredo and Paul Voß and Cesare Benedetti both of BORA - ARGON 18.
Patrick told us the finale today was really hard. Although the breakaway had a healthy gap well over two minutes with 10km to go, the peloton was moving so much quicker than the exausted breakaway that the catch was inevitable. This spees combined with the steep climbs took its toll on a number of riders. Koni suffered badly with cramps through the final 20km but arrived safely in Cherbourg.
An eventful day for BORA - ARGON 18 was capped off when sprinter Sam Bennett, who was badly hurt in yesterday's fall, managed to cross the line before the time cut-off.
The long transfer after the stage gave the riders a little time to relax, with Koni using it to catch-up on some reading.
Perhaps tomorrow will be a quieter day for the team. Hopefully Paul Voß has plenty left in the tank after 2 days on the attack and Sam Bennett continues to recover from hos crash injuries.
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