TOUR DE FRANCE - STAGE 2
REASSURANCE FOR THE COFIDIS RIDERS 

After the first stage, which was marked by crashes, the Cofidis riders are back on the road. Pierre-Luc Périchon and Jesús Herrada, the most affected, managed to reach the finish line without any problems. Guillaume Martin finished in the first group and Anthony Perez was part of the breakaway.

There was a little bit more lightness at the end of the afternoon at the finish line of Mûr-de-Bretagne. The Cofidis riders were smiling again and forgot about the previous day's stage. It took a lot of determination to get back on the bike, after a stage where most of the riders were caught in crashes.

The courage of Périchon and Herrada

Pierre-Luc Périchon and Jesús Herrada, who suffered minor injuries due to the crashes had to undergo further tests in the emergency room of Landerneau the day before, returning to the hotel late. Nevertheless, they were back on the road on Sunday.

Cofidis played a leading role in the stage once again with Anthony Perez being the first to attack and to fight for the best climber classification. At the end of the stage, as the pace increased, Guillaume Martin finished in the first group, reassuring himself about his physical condition. There were also the smiles of relief from Pierre-Luc Périchon and Jesús Herrada. You have to take it easy in the Tour de France to be able to look forward to the next stage with calmness, while keeping your enthusiasm intact.

THE COFIDIS STAGE IN BRIEF

Anthony Perez and Pierre-Luc Périchon are positioned at the front of the peloton and attack several times.

Anthony Perez, with four and then five riders, joins the day's breakaway.

Perez takes the lead at the first climb of the day, the Côte de Sainte-Barbe, but is beaten by Ide Schelling at the top of the second climb.

Anthony Perez and two other riders are caught by the peloton.

Guillaume Martin crosses the line 8 seconds behind the winner, Mathieu Van der Poel.
Pierre-Luc Périchon and Jesús Herrada manage to finish the race and are excited to continue the adventure.

THEY SAID

Guillaume MARTIN : « It was a better day than yesterday as I didn't fall. Nevertheless, I was hoping for more from the final climb. I approached the first climb with a bad position. It went up quickly, which forced me to make an unnecessary effort. I was in a better position for the second one, the feeling was better but against Van der Poel, there was not much to do. I hope that yesterday's fall will not have too many consequences. I won't take any risks in the next few days so that I can attack when the mountains come. »  

Anthony PEREZ : « In the fight for the polka dot jersey, I tried my luck but I was caught by a very strong rider (Ide Schelling). I beat him at the first climb by having a little more dynamism and then he beat me. Congratulations to him! You know it's very special to fight like that with nearly 100 km to go because you know that the road ahead is still long. However, we know that there will be other opportunities. I like to be in the breakaway but I will take it easy in the next few days. »  

Pierre-Luc PÉRICHON : « The stage went better than expected for me. I saw that my sensations were not that bad. I even helped Anthony in the neutral section so that he could join the breakaway. Due to the fear of being in pain, I was pedaling a lot with my quadriceps and in the final part of the race, my legs were under a lot of strain. But overall, I am better, I am confident for the next stage and I know that it will get better. »  

STAGE 3
LORIENT - PONTIVY (182.9 KM)

COFIDIS, BEHIND THE SCENES
By Mathilde L'Azou / Team Cofidis