Garmin-Cervelo has won Stage 2 of the Tour de France. The American squad powered over the rolling, 23-km course at Les Essarts to win the stage in 24:48. BMC and Sky took second and third, respectively, at 0:04. World road race champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) is the new maillot jaune.

Saxo Bank was the first team to start. The Danish squad attempted to turn in a performance that would make up time for its captain, Alberto Contador, who lost 1:20 in Stage 1 crashes. Saxo Bank rode well but not superbly and finished eighth at 0:28.

Garmin-Cervelo was the 10th team to start. It had time trial specialists such as David Millar and American time trial champion David Zabriskie to set the pace. The team led at both intermediate checkpoints (nine km and 16 km) en route to the lead.

Sky was expected to be a contender for victory in this stage, and it was. The British squad led at the first checkpoint but was four seconds behind Garmin-Cervelo at the second. That margin would be the final one, with Sky arriving at the finish with five men.

Misfortune struck HTC-Highroad at the outset when Bernhard Eisel crashed. At the first two checkpoints, the American squad was seventh at 0:09 and sixth at 0:14, respectively, but the team rallied to finish fifth at 0:05.

Another American team, RadioShack, was tied for seventh at 0:09 at the first checkpoint and sixth at 0:15 at the second. The squad rallied somewhat to finish sixth at 0:10.

Yet another American team, BMC Racing, turned in a surprising performance. BMC was not expected to be much of a factor in the team time trial, but the team surprised the competition and perhaps even itself today. Led by Australian Tour hopeful Cadel Evans, Marcus Burghardt, and American veteran George Hincapie, BMC was third at 0:02 at the first checkpoint and third at 0:06 at the second. The team's performance allowed Evans to gain seconds on his rivals and entertain hopes of donning the yellow jersey.

Leopard-Trek has Andy and Frank Schleck, who are not time trialists, but it also has Fabian Cancellara, the world's best time trialist. The team relied on Cancellara to pull it through, and the Swiss rider lived up to expectations. The Luxembourger squad finished fourth at 0:04 and prevented GC contender Andy Schleck from losing time.

In the overall, Hushovd leads Millar by a fraction of a second and Evans by 0:01. Stage 3 will be a flat, 198-km run from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon. It should end in a cavalry charge. Who will take it? Will Hushovd keep his yellow jersey? For the answers to these questions and others, check in at www.roadcycling.com and www.roadcycling.mobi from mobile phones.

Click here for complete stage 2 results. Links to additional related articles below..