Clouds already hanging over Nibali after stormy day (Reuters)
By Martyn Herman ZEELAND, Netherlands (Reuters) – By the time Vincenzo Nibali reached the sanctuary of his team coach, it was a beautiful summer’s evening, but a stormy second stage had already left a cloud over his hopes of following up last year’s Tour de France victory. The Italian lost a chunk of time to Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, two of his big rivals to wear the yellow jersey in Paris on July 26, after a dramatic 166km sweep through the flatlands of southern Netherlands. Cross winds coming off the North Sea and torrential rain storms made a twitchy peloton break apart and with crashes, mechanical problems and attacks going on all day, Nibali, with fellow GC (general classification) contender Nairo Quintana from Colombia, found himself the wrong side of a split with about 50km remaining.