Cycling: Dream come true for Belgian rider

ANTWERP - Marc Wauters staged a Belgian coup at the Tour de France yesterday, leading in a 16-man break at the end of the 220.5km run from Calais to win the second stage and claim the yellow jersey of race leader.

The 32-year-old Belgian outpaced Frenchman Arnaud Pretot and Robert Hunter, of South Africa, after the group had gained 22s on the chasing pack.

It was a first stage win for Wauters in his ninth Tour de France and he described the victory as a dream come true.

"It's incredible to win here in my own country," he said. "It's a dream for me to win the stage, and the yellow jersey is a godsend."

Wauters, who was backed by his Rabobank team-mate Erik Dekker on the run into Antwerp, had to hold off a stiff challenge from Stuart O'Grady of Australia.

O'Grady, a team-mate of New Zealander Chris Jenner, looked set to claim the yellow jersey as his four-strong Credit Agricole presence in the leading group worked hard to keep the pack at bay.

The bonus points for the stage win proved enough to give Wauters the overall lead.

Lance Armstrong, chasing a third successive victory in the race, finished safely in the main pack of riders. The American is now 31s down on Wauters, but will not be too concerned as he looks forward to the rest of a race that will be won in the mountains.

From Calais, the stage passed over the Belgian border at the 60km mark, and continued through West Flanders, East Flanders and into Antwerp.



It was a bad day for Upper Hutt cyclist Jenner, who was involved in a crash and slipped to the tail of the field.

The 26-year-old finished in a pack of 10 riders almost seven minutes behind Wauters.

Credit Agricole team coach Denis Roue said Jenner would be fit to ride in the 199km third stage, from Antwerp to Seraing.

"His knee and hip are injured, but nothing major, just a big bruise."

Jenner dropped more than 100 places on general classification - to 174th of 189 riders. Overall, he is 7m 45s behind Wauters.

Only the sixth New Zealander to ride in the famous tour, Jenner's key role is to sacrifice his own placing for the good of his French team.

With three riders in the top 10 on general classification, Credit Agricole now lead the tour from the powerful Festina team. O'Grady is second overall, 12s adrift of Wauters, with German Jens Voigt eighth and American Bobby Julich 10th.

Jenner is the first New Zealander to ride in the 3500km tour since Stephen Swart in 1995. He switched nationalities to France to ensure he got a start in the race.

- AGENCIES