Chavanel in yellow as Schlecks, Armstrong crash

Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel claimed the leader's yellow jersey at the Tour de France yesterday after a gutsy ride in a second stage that witnessed a number of crashes.

Chavanel was part of an eight-man breakaway which formed in the early stages of the 201km ride from Brussels to the hilly Belgian Ardennes, and was left to go alone for the final 19.5km after Belgian Jurgen Roelandts ran out of steam.

It was in Chavanel's wake, however, that the real race drama unfolded.

For the second day running a number of crashes caused panic in the peloton, one of which took down several yellow jersey favourites including Lance Armstrong and Andy Schleck.

Saxo Bank leader Schleck fell alongside his brother Frank on the descent of the Stockeu climb, one of two which appear on the Belgian classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege and which was made slippery by rain.

The brothers had to rely on the help of team-mate Jens Voigt to close the gap to a group which contained team-mate and overnight leader Fabian Cancellara, although both were wincing in pain.

Chavanel now leads Cancellara by 2min 57sec in the overall standings, with German Tony Martin, of HTC-Columbia, a further 10secs behind.

Armstrong moved one place down to fifth, at 3:19 behind Chavanel, with reigning yellow jersey champion Alberto Contador in seventh at 3:24.

Chavanel is not a contender for overall victory in the race, but his win has given a huge boost to his Belgian Quick Step team on what is the only stage of this year's race to be held entirely in the country.