LIMOGES, March 9, 2010 (AFP) – French cyclist William Bonnet recorded his first major stage race success here on Tuesday when he won the second stage of the Paris-Nice race, a 201 kilometres ride from Contres.

Dutchman Lars Boom held on to the yellow jersey.

Bonnet, 27, beat Slovakia’s Peter Sagan and Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez in a sprint finish.

“This is my first big win, I’ve been waiting a long time for it,” said Bonnet.

“I managed to avoid the collision in the last mile and caught up with Sanchez, who started the sprint with 400 meters to go.”

The Spaniard said after the stage that he was going all out for first place but the elements got the better of him.

“I felt great. I decided to get involved in the sprint to try and win the stage,” Sanchez said.

“There was a strong headwind, which complicated things but I’m very satisfied with third.”

Lars Boom Holds Onto Lead

Slovenia’s Grega Bole, who finished second in Monday’s race, fell in the final sprint along with Bonnet’s compatriot Jimmy Casper.

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador completed the stage without incident after falling on Monday and bruising his leg.

Germany’s Jens Voigt of the Saxo Bank team trails overall leader Boom by just five seconds, while Spaniard Sanchez is ten seconds behind the Dutch Rabobank rider.

The third stage is a 208-kilometer ride between Saint-Junien and Aurillac on Wednesday.

Stage 2:
1. William Bonnet (FRA) Bouygues Telecom, 4hr 22min 40sec,
2. Peter Sagan (SVK) Liquigas same time,
3. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP) Caisse d’Epargne s.t,
4. Mirco Lorenzetto (ITA) Lampre s.t,
5. Juan Jose Haedo (ARG) Saxo Bank s.t,
6. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) COF s.t,
7. Tom Veelers (NED/SKS) s.t.
8. Eduard Vorganov (RUS) Katumpa s.t,
9. Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil s.t,
10. Francesco Chicchi (ITA) Liquigas s.t,
11. Koldo Fernandez (ESP) Euskatel s.t,
12. Jeremy Galland (FRA) Saur, s.t,
13. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA) Francaise des Jeux s.t,
14. Serguei Ivanov (RUS) Katumpa s.t,
15. Heinrich Haussler (GER) Cervelo Test Team, s.t.
Selected:
17. Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana s.t., 73. Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank s.t.

Overall:
1. Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank 8hr 55min 51sec,
2. Jens Voigt (GER) Saxo Bank at 05 secs,
3. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP) Caisse d’Epargne at 10
4. David Millar (GBR) Garmin at 13,
5. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas at 15,
6. Greg Henderson (NZL) Team Sky at 20,
7. Peter Sagan (SVK) Liquigas at 23,
8. Levi Leipheimer(USA) RadioShack at 25,
9. Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana at 25,
10. Xavier Tondo (ESP) Cervelo Test Team at 29

Photos by: CorVos Pro