NICE, France (Reuters) – Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe won the second stage of the Tour de France, a 186-km mountain ride around Nice, and took the overall leader’s yellow jersey on Sunday.
Swiss Marc Hirschi took second place with Briton Adam Yates coming home third.
Alaphilippe, who last year wore the coveted jersey for 14 days, kept his cool to prevail in a three-man sprint as the peloton was breathing down their neck.
Dark horse Dani Martinez, of Colombia, lost time after cracking in the last climb of the day shortly after crashing in a descent.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ian Chadband)
