Zabel's Telekom team-mates closed the breaks

15.38: Hushovd's misery carries on as he comes to a halt for further treatment while Credit Agricole team-mate Voigt now leads by a minute now.

15.36: The Telekom riders are once again out front and Erik Zabel is being well guarded by his team-mates. He avoided the fall but it is not yet known if any of the big names came down there.

15.33: A big crash unfolds at the head of the peloton and there appears to be about 20 riders brought down. That should help Voigt's cause out front.

15.28: Voigt crosses the line ahead of his fellow cyclists for the six points on the intermediate sprint. Chavanel and Berges are second and third respectively. But straight afterwards the German pulls clear.

15.24: Voigt joins the two Frenchmen out front and they stick to his wheel, at least for the time being. He has pulled 40 seconds clear of the pack with 25km to go.

15.21: Jens Voigt has tried to make a break from the peloton. The German rider is still within sight of the pack but is quickly closing in on the front-runners.

15.20: After some medical attention he gets back on and rejoins the race. His long-time partners at the head of the field, Berges and Chavanel, are only half-a-minute in front.

15.17: Early leader Hushovd is off his bike now. He is in all sorts of trouble. Cramp appears to be the problem once again.

15.13: Berges and Chavanel slow right down and shake hands as they finally admit their attempts for the stage win are now over. Their lead is down to barely more than a minute.

Berges was part of the initial break

15.05: The long-time leaders, who initially made the break after 11kms, are beginning to concede defeat. The peloton are rapidly closing in and the heat is beginning to affect both riders.

14.55: Berges takes the maximum points on the latest fourth category climb ahead of Chavanel but they are less than two minutes ahead now.

14.50: The Norwegian rider Hushovd is finally sucked up by the peloton with 50km to go. There is pain etched on his face as he is passed.

14.42: All 189 riders are looking likely to be reunited before the finishing line. Hushovd is being reeled in while the front two of Berges and Chavanel appear to be toiling in the heat.

14.33: There are 60km remaining of today's stage with the leading duo's advantage now coming down to 3m 50s. Hushovd is halfway between the front two and the peloton.

14.24: The Credit Agricole rider is now nearly a minute off the pace and three minutes ahead of the peloton. Rubens Bertogliati, the yellow jersey wearer and Lampre-Daikin rider, is calling on the Telekom team to start pushing the pace from the peloton.

14.19: Hushovd comes to a temporary standstill on the side of the road and slips well back from the other two breakaway riders. It looks like he may be suffering from cramp. His bid for Tour glory look over for today.

14.10: The Tour is now very much into the German countryside with the crowds hoping for a stage win by home favourite Erik Zabel. The remaining 80 kilometres of stage two ought to suit the German sprinter.

13.55: Chavanel takes another six points for winning the second sprint of the day, ahead of Berges and Hushovd but their race lead is finally being whittled down for the first time today.

13.45: The riders are approaching the halfway mark of today's stage. Samuel Sanchez and Jerome Bernard have been the latest fallers but both men have remounted and are back in action.

Bertogliati started the day in yellow

13.35: The top trio now have a five-minute advantage over the chasing peloton. Should that stay the same, Chavanel will be the latest recipient of the yellow jersey.

13.14: Erik Dekker is the first big name in trouble today. He has fallen off the back of the peloton and is being helped back into action by his team-mates.

13.08: The riders make it up climb one of the day, with the breakaway still going strong. Berges takes the five points for crossing the climb first, with Chavanel second and Hushovd third. Their lead will soon be up to four minutes.

12.45: Everyone has now passed through the first sprint of the day, Chavanel netting the maximum points ahead of Hushovd and third-placed man Berges. Their lead has since gone out to three minutes.

12.30: The trio's lead has gone out to almost two minutes but none of them are candidates in the overall standings so few of the race leaders have bothered to chase them down.

12.10: Those front-runners have stretched their advantage to 40 seconds, partly due to the first fall of the day. Tour debutant Baden Cooke and Benoit Joachim both take a tumble but are quickly back on their bikes and out of danger.

12.00: That group are finally tracked down but a fresh attack is launched a matter of minutes later. Sylvain Chavanel is out in front and being chased by Thors Hushovd and Stephane Berges.

11.48: Following on from the attacking nature of yesterday's stage, a group of riders have already broken free of the main peloton and worked out a small advantage.

11.42: The stage has just got under way in Luxembourg with the riders making a leisurely start before heading into Germany.