Dream Aussie double for Cooke and McGee

FDJEUX.COM duo Baden Cooke and Bradley McGee made it a dream double for Australia after stage two of the Tour de France.

Cooke came home first in Sedan after a frantic sprint finish to claim his debut stage victory in the event, while McGee kept hold of the yellow jersey at the top of the standings.

The 25-year-old from Victoria beat Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazan and Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu into second and third respectively in a tight finish with his bonus seconds helping to preserve his compatriot’s overall lead.

Although there were tumbles throughout the day, there was thankfully no repeat of the carnage that marred Sunday’s finish, and Cooke believes keeping his composure in the final few metres was key to his win.

“I was very calm out there, which was important because it can get dangerous. Kirsipuu put me up against the barriers but I didn’t panic. It is unbelievable, it could not have worked out better. Finally I have joined the club (of stage winners).”

Cooke was also quick to pay tribute to the rest of the riders in his team after their superb efforts over the opening three days.

“We have got really good morale and we are really good friends. We have got three Aussies and six Frenchmen. Everyone is so motivated.”

Cooke’s team sporting director Marc Madiot was also delighted with the result. “I’m happy for the riders and the team,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard and the FDJeux team deserves this victory. We’ve come a long way from when we were just a team for retired riders.”

The win leaves Cooke level with Britain’s David Millar at four seconds behind McGee in the overall standings, with Jan Ullrich and favourite Lance Armstrong six and 11 seconds off the pace respectively.

At the start of the day there were some surprises as the riders patched themselves up after Sunday’s pile-up. CSC rider Tyler Hamilton suffered a hairline fracture of his collarbone in the accident but amazed race organisers when he showed up to compete in La Ferte-sous-Jouarre.

And when the action got under way French duo Lilian Jegou of the Credit Agricole team and, in particular, Frederic Finot of Jean Delatour gave the race leaders cause for concern. The pair made their move after just five kilometres of the undulating 204.5km stage and had forged a lead of over 11 and a half minutes at one stage.

There was almost a disaster when Jegou collided with a cameraman on a motorbike and was brought crashing to the ground and into the path of a following vehicle. Thankfully the car swerved onto the roadside grass verge in time, and Jegou hauled himself back up to join Finot. As the stage approached its conclusion the peloton began to reel the break back in and the pressure of leading from the front proved too much for Jegou.

With 43 kilometres to go Finot attacked his rival on a climb and left him behind, and before long Jegou was swallowed back into the peloton. Finot’s resolve seemed strong for a while, with the peloton’s progress being hampered by a couple of falls, but he too was swept up by the chasing pack with an agonising three kilometres to go. From there the sprint was on, and Cooke found the edge he needed on the line to make it a day to remember for the Australians.

The riders move to Charleville- Meziers for today’s 167.5km stage to Saint-Dizier.