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Updated Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:46 am TWN, AP

Bonnet wins 2nd stage of Paris-Nice; Lars Boom maintains overall lead

LIMOGES, France -- William Bonnet of France won a sprint Tuesday to take the second stage of the Paris-Nice race, and Lars Boom of the Netherlands maintained the overall lead.

Bonnet surged ahead in the last few meters to beat Peter Sagan of Slovakia on the finish line. Defending champion Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain finished third and moved up to third overall thanks to time bonuses awarded for his podium finish.

“It's the most beautiful win in my career,” said Bonnet, who used to be a support rider for sprinter Thor Hushovd at Credit Agricole before joining the Bbox Bouygues Telecom team last season.

“I have more freedom to play my own cards since I joined Bbox,” he said. “I hope it's the first great win but that more will follow.”

Four riders were involved in a crash near the end of the 201-kilometer stage between Contres and Limoges after Slovenian sprinter Grega Bole fell just in front of Jimmy Casper of France in the last stretch.

Following his crash in the first stage, two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador spent the whole day in the pack and remains 25 seconds behind Boom.

Boom, who won Sunday's prologue, leads the overall standings by five seconds ahead of German rider Jens Voigt. Sanchez is 10 seconds back.

The first breakaway started after four kilometers when Mauro Finetto, Jens Mouris, Laurent Mangel and Koen de Kort launched an early attack.

The foursome had a lead of more than 4 minutes before Lars Boom's Rabobank team started to chase with the help of HTC-Columbia riders, cutting the gap to 1 minute with about 50 kilometers to go.

Finetto and De Kort waited for the peloton while Mouris was brought back a few minutes later.

Mangel was alone in front with 20 kilometers to go with a 15-second lead over the main pack, but the Frenchman was caught shortly afterward as the pace increased at the front of the peloton.

Cyril Gautier of France surged ahead in the last climb only to be reined in four kilometers from the finish.

Wednesday's third stage is a 208K trek between Saint-Junien and Aurillac. The race ends Sunday.

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	William Bonnet, of France, celebrates winning the second stage of Paris-Nice cycling race between Contres and Limoges, Tuesday, March 9. (Reuters) Enlarge Photo


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