PARIS, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Three-time title holder Peter Sagan won the second stage of Tour de France and took the race's yellow jersey from the Colombian rising star Fernando Gaviria.
Sagam finished the 182.5km second stage from Mouilleron-Saint-Germain to La Roche-sur-Yon in a winning time of 4 hours, 6 minutes and 37 seconds with a 57.6kph rush on the last 500 meters.
Disqualified from the event for a year after ruled by the officials to be responsible for Mark Cavendish's broken shoulder, the Slovikian rider launched a perfect comeback as he stormed past the finish line before Sonny Colbrelli could catch him. But he didn't take it as a revenge.
"Revenge? I already forgot about last year," Sagan said, "I'm just happy I can be in the Tour de France, the biggest race in the world."
Defending champion Chris Froome did not repeat his late tumble in the first stage and chased Sagan on the overall standings by 1 minute and 7 seconds, still targeting on the title. Gaviria enjoyed a better chance although he was involved in an early crash, trailing by 6 seconds behind the leading time.
Sylvain Chavanel led the race for most time of the second stage but was caught up by the peloton 13km from the finish line. Ethiopian rider Tsgabu Grmay became the first rider to quit the race due to abdominal pain and later Astana's Luis Leon Sanchez left the race on arm injuries.
The third stage of Tour de France on Monday will be a 35.5km team time-trial that starts and ends at Cholet.
