Cavendish wins Tour's 2nd stage

07-06-2009 | AP

The Swiss Cancellara kept the overall lead after capturing the opening time trial

Panama Star BRIGNOLES, FRANCE. Britain's Mark Cavendish won the second stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, with seven-time champion Lance Armstrong finishing safely in the trailing pack.

Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland kept the overall lead after capturing the opening time trial a day earlier. He leads Alberto Contador by 18 seconds. Armstrong is 10th.

Cavendish clenched his fists and smiled as he crossed the line a split second in front of runner-up Tyler Farrar of the US and third-place finisher Romain Feillu of France.

With a solid escort from his Team Columbia, Cavendish almost made it look easy. He won three stages in the Giro d'Italia in May and is proving to be among the world's leading sprint specialists. This was Cavendish's fifth Tour stage win.

Armstrong didn't speak to reporters as he left the team bus before Sunday's stage. But the Texan wrote on his Twitter account that he expected "the bunch will be antsy and aggressive" and predicted the stage would be won by Cavendish.