Sprint joy for Haussler

Heinrich Haussler won the second stage of the Paris-Nice in a bunch sprint. Alberto Contador retained the overall lead.

Cervelo rider wins second stage of Paris-Nice

Germany's Heinrich Haussler won the second stage of the Paris-Nice in a bunch sprint. The Cervelo rider outpaced Mark Renshaw and Mirco Lorenzetto at the conclusion of the 195.5 kilometre route from Saint-Brisson-sur-Loire to La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin. Australia's Renshaw finished second and Italian Lorenzetto third, while Alberto Contador retained the overall lead despite being held up by a multiple pile-up inside the final two kilometres. The Spaniard benefited from the rule which neutralises times when a crash involving several riders occurs three kilometres or less from the line. French hope Remi Pauriol of the Cofidis team did not get off so lightly as he sustained a possible collarbone fracture, according to his team. Earlier, Dutchman Piet Rooijakkers, Spaniard Aitor Hernandez, Aleksandr Kuschynski of Belarus and France's Christophe Laurent jumped out from the main bunch right at the start of the day and, at one point, built a gap of seven minutes and 35 seconds. But the four-man breakaway was hauled in 22km from the finish to leave the stage set for Haussler. Tuesday's third stage, a 178km run from Orval to Vichy, is likely to again favour the sprinters. Stage Two result
1 H Haussler (Ger/Cer) four hours, 45 minutes and one second
2 M Renshaw (Aus/Col) same time
3 M Lorenzetto (Ita/Lam) "
4 T Veelers (Ned/Sk-S) "
5 M Antoniobil Fischer (Brz/Lqs) "
6 S Chavanel (Fra/Q-Sp) "
7 S Hinault (Fra/AG2R) "
8 S Dumoulin (Fra/Cof) "
9 R Feillu (Fra/Agt) "
10 M Hayman (Aus/Rab) "