LIEGE: Geraint Thomas of Team Sky is in the race leader's yellow jersey as the 2017 Tour de France embarks on a first full road stage.
The largely flat 203.5-kilometer Stage 2 Sunday from Duesseldorf, Germany, which hosted the short opening time trial, finishes in Liege, Belgium. The long finishing straight should lend itself to a high-speed mass sprint.
The race has already lost Alejandro Valverde, who finished third in 2015, to a crash on a rain-slickened bend Saturday. His Movistar team said he had successful surgery overnight for a broken left kneecap and an injured shinbone.
The second stage is now underway.