CHERBOURG-EN-COTENTIN, France (AP) — The Tour de France can rarely be won in the first week.
It can be lost, though.
Stage 2 on Sunday was a case in point.
Four contenders for the overall title lost time over a wet and challenging route that resembled a course for a single-day classic, with two short climbs — one of them very steep — near the finish.
If a key contender continues to lose time over easier stages in the first week, he will find it difficult to get back into contention once the mountains come later in the race.