Hushovd quietens pack, grabs stage victory

st brieuc (France), July 6: Norway's Thor Hushovd powered to his sixth victory on the Tour de France when he won a mass sprint to snatch the second stage on Sunday. The Credit Agricole rider, who won the prologue in Strasbourg two years ago, outwitted his fellow sprinters in a nervous finish after 164.5 kms from Auray to St Brieuc. He beat Team Columbia riders Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg and Gerald Ciolek of Germany.

It was not enough, however, to take the overall leader's yellow jersey off Alejandro Valverde's shoulders as the Spaniard of the Caisse d'Epargne team finished safe in the main bunch.

“I knew it was a sprint that could suit me but it was hard, with the wind and this turn towards the end,” said Hushovd, who had his first Tour stage win in Bourg en Bresse in 2002.

Hushovd waited for the last 100 metres to burst out of the bunch, proving the smartest of the field to claim his sixth win of the season.

Last year’s best climber Juan Mauricio Soler, who injured his arm and wrists in a crash on Saturday, was dropped from the peloton 25 kms from the finish.

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