 Four separate riders attempted to make solo breakaways early in the stage , but it was not until the 22 km ( 13 @.@ 7 mi ) point that a group was able to separate from the peloton . For the second day running , Argos – Shimano rider Thomas Damuseau was in the breakaway , with the main aim of taking the mountains classification lead away from overall leader David Veilleux of Team Europcar . Joining Damuseau in the group initially were Bretagne – Séché Environnement 's Arnaud Gérard and Cofidis rider Rudy Molard , while a fourth rider , José Mendes ( NetApp – Endura ) , was able to bridge up to the group from the peloton . With three @-@ quarters of the group being within two minutes of Veilleux after the opening stage , the peloton were unwilling to give the group too much distance on the road , and the gap peaked at no more than five minutes , just after halfway . 
