After coming third behind Julien Simon in the opening stage, Movistar's Alex Aranburu got his victory in a hotly contested sprint in La Souterraine, just edging out Eduard Grosu (Drone Hopper-Androni) and Clement Venturini (AG2R Citroën).
Thanks to the time bonus, Aranburu moved into the overall race lead by four seconds over Simon,with Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) in third at five seconds.
"I was a little scared, yesterday's blows hurt a little -arm, hip, knee-, but I ended up feeling good and the team has worked great again," Aranburu said after the victory.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
