Hushovd, who needed five stitches after injuring his arm on Sunday, took third place in two intermediate sprints.

Australia's Robbie McEwen won a bunch sprint in Esch-sur-Alzette to take the green jersey as top sprinter.

Spanish debutants Aitor Hernandez and David de la Fuente staged a breakaway of 187km but were brought back late on.

By Martin Gough

1630: Stage two results:
1 Robbie McEwen (AUS - DVL)
2 Tom Boonen (BEL - QSI)
3 Thor Hushovd (NOR - CA)

1627: Replays show Hushovd losing his pedal and raising his hand but it doesn't look like a foul and the result will stand. McEwen takes his ninth Tour stage win.

1623: The pelton is breathing down Kessler's neck in the final few metres and swallows him up with around 50m to go. Zabel takes the front but out of nowhere comes Robbie McEwen to snatch the sprint. Boonen comes second and Hushovd is behind him.

1622: In the tight bends of Esch-sur-Alzette there has been a crash in the middle of the peloton, although it is not obvious which stars are on which side. Kessler heads under the flame rouge signalling 1km to go.

1620: Matthias Kessler of T-Mobile has launched an audacious attack and has built a lead of around 10 seconds but the peloton is giving chase with the Milram team of German sprinter Erik Zabel to the fore.

1615: Wegman is chewed up by the peloton and spat out the back, having failed to do enough to hold on to his mountain jersey. It's time for a host of hopefuls to try for a late break but the sprinters' teams will have none of this.

1613: The peloton overtakes Wegman's two co-conspirators and De la Fuente, with Wegman just a handful of seconds ahead now. De la Fuente is confirmed as King of the Mountains for tonight and will don the polka dot jersey on the podium, although the 14 points he has will be dwarfed by those on offer in the Pyranees and the Alps later in the race.

1612: Results from the final climb, up Cote de Volmerange les-Mines:1 Wegmann (GST) 3pts
2 De la Fuente (SDV) 2pts
3 Lefevre (BTL) 1pts

1607: We have our first fall of this year's race, including two riders from Saunier-Duval (thankfully not David Millar) and at least one of Tom Boonen's Quickstep team, which may harm his sprint.

Meanwhile Wegman jumps out in front of the three-man group of poursuivants overtakes De la Fuente just before the top of the Cote de Volmerange les-Mines.

1603: De la Fuente's lead is down to 50 seconds as he comes over the top of the Cote de Kanfen - the penultimate climb of the day. Wegman wins a three-man sprint off the front of the peloton to finish second and those three stay out ahead of the pack on a short decent before the last short climb.

1557: De la Fuente heads under the inflatable hoop that signals 20km to go. Surely he can't hold out here.

1549: With just under 30km to go, De la Fuente is around 1:50 ahead of the pack and his shoulders are starting to sway as he ascends the Cote de Kanfen, with the summit 6.5km away.

1544: Hernandez is swallowed up by the peloton in the straight before the sprint. Hushovd is ahead of Boonen as they approach the line but the big Belgian manages to overtake to his right. Aussie Stuart O'Grady puts in a push for the final points but Hushovd holds on.

Results for the third intermediate sprint:
1 David De la Fuente (SDV) 6pts/6 secs
2 Tom Boonen (QSI) 4pts/4 secs
3 Thor Hushovd (CA) 2pts/2 secs

1541: There is one remaining intermediate sprint and only one candidate to win with De la Fuente out on his own. Those green cardboard hands, now banned from the finish after Hushovd's injury yesterday, welcome him as he crosses the line in Yutz.

1538: De la Fuente is now 40 seconds ahead of former breakaway partner Hernandez and 2:40 in front of the peloton. He is unlikely to hold on until the finish on his own but could snatch the polka dot jersey if he is first over the remaining climbs today.

1532: Fabian Wegmann nips off the front of the group to take the single King of the Mountains point on offer for third place over the Cote de Kedange-sur-Canner, ahead of one of Hernandez's Euskatel-Euskadi team-mates.

1 David De la Fuente (SDV) 3pts
2 Aitor Hernandez (EUS) 2pts
3 Fabian Wegmann (GST) 1pts

Further ahead on the road, De la Fuente is trying to build a gap on Hernandez with around 41km left on the stage.

1529: If there was a deal between these two leaders, it is over as De la Fuente sprints away to take the points atop the Cote de Kedange-sur-Canner, the first of three category-four climbs towards the end of the stage.

1518: The peloton took a break after the sprint and the lead is now stuck around the 3:30 mark. Members of the Saunier-Duval team of De la Fuente are moving to the front, probably trying to deter them from regrouping into a faster formation.

1505: A hotly-contested sprint sees three riders each from Quickstep and Credit Agricole go shoulder to shoulder in the lead-out. Boonen breaks with Hushovd behind him and the Norwegian manages to get around his rival to the left. That two-second bonus will give Hushovd the yellow jersey unless Hincapie can take a bonus later in the stage.

The official results for the second intermediate sprint are:
1 David De la Fuente (SDV) 6pts/6 secs
2 Aitor Hernandez (EUS) 4pts/4 secs
3 Thor Hushovd (CA) 2pts/2 secs

Hushovd and Boonen came through exactly three minutes behind the leaders. Although Hushovd and Hincapie are now level on seconds in the general classification, Hushovd won Saturday's prologue by 0.73 seconds so that is the tie-breaker.

1502: It looks like the two leaders have done a deal on points as De la Fuente cruises past the sprint line with no pressure from Hernandez, who won the two climbs earlier in the day.

1457: The two leaders are less than five minutes ahead now but if they can hold on to the Cote de Kedange-sur-Canner - the first of three category-four climbs - they may be able to take advantage of the inevitable disruption to the rhythm of the peloton.

First up, though, is the sprint at Holling. Credit Agricole are working very hard to keep the pace high, with Hushovd needing to win the bunch sprint to move level with Hincapie in the GC.

1442: Hernandez and De la Fuente may just make the second intermediate sprint before being overwhelmed by the peloton, which has ground the lead back down to under six minutes. Whether they can then hold on and stay with the pack for the rest of the stage is up for debate after such a lengthy breakway - they have now been away for almost 150km.

1434: Hushovd drops back from the peloton to chat with his team director and also the race doctor, whose open-top car allows riders to hang on for a mobile consultation. It looks like he's being given a pill, perhaps a painkiller.

1425: Even though Hernandez and De la Fuente - two of the 34 first-time riders on this year's Tour - are working well together their lead has now dropped under the seven-minute mark and is diminishing rapidly despite the relatively slow speed of the stage overall - around 40kmph.

1425: If you're playing Tour bingo today, we've had a horse rider alongside the peloton and people waving from strange hay sculptures but no sign yet of any sunflowers or of Der Teufel - the German dressed as a devil who attends every single stage.

1407: With less than 100km to go now, the split between the two leaders and the peloton has stuck around the 7:45 mark, despite the best attentions of the sprinters' teams. There is a fairly strong headwind so perhaps they are saving their energy for the final half-hour. Out front, De la Fuente is just finishing off an apple.

1358: More news on Hushovd: Serge Beucherie of Credit Agricole has told French TV: "Thor may have missed out on claiming a time bonus at the first intermediate sprint but he appears to be going well and isn't affected by the cut on his arm."

1353: Hushovd's continuing challenge is underlined as his Credit Agricole team join Quickstep and Davitamon-Lotto in trying to close down the gap on the leaders before then next sprint at 169.5km. The lead is heading down towards the seven-minute mark.

1350: Reports suggest Australia's Michael Rogers, a time trial specialist, could take over as leader of the T-Mobile team after Jan Ullrich's exclusion. "We are going to wait until the time trial. Then we will make a decision," he is quoted as saying, with a 52km contre la montre taking place in Rennes on Saturday.

1350: The two leaders pass through the feed station at the 120km mark, taking on their musettes filled with a high-carbohydrate lunch and hopefully something to drink on a scorchingly hot day. Although the official report says they went away at the 1km mark, there are suggestions they went straight after the official start.

1342: Tom Boonen wins the dash for third place at the intermediate sprint, against a surprisingly aggressive Hushovd, who has a bandage around the right-arm wound that required five stitches last night. The leaders have a 7:30 lead over the pack, down almost four minutes on their biggest split. Boonen's time bonus moves him within 11 seconds of Hincapie in the overall classification.

1 De la Fuente (SDV) 6pts/6secs
2 Hernandez (EUS) 4pts/4secs
3 Boonen (QSI) 2pts/2secs

1336: De la Fuente led out the sprint but Hernandez was unable to generate the power to get past him and Briton David Millar's Saunier-Duval team-mate took first, with a prize of six green jersey points and six bonus seconds in the general classification.

1333: Hernandez and De la Fuente will contest first place in the first intermediate sprint in Marimont-les-Benestroff as they are still more than eight minutes ahead of the pack.

1331: Danilo Di Luca, who retired from the Tour this morning, is quoted as saying: "Once again, I'm suffering an urinary infection. I've had a big fever last week and am on antibiotics. I feel like I have no strength."

1305: With the first sprint of the day at the 107km point, the sprinters' teams have taken over the front of the peloton, making sure no one makes a cheeky jump off the front as Hincapie did yesterday. Tom Boonen's Quickstep men and the Davitamon-Lotto troops marshalled by Robbie McEwen are likely to make this an early skirmish for the green jersey rather than an opportunity for time bonuses in the general classification.

1240: With neither Hernandez nor De la Fuente a serious threat to Hincapie's overall lead, the Discovery team have let their lead settle around 9:50. Although Discovery are still controlling the peloton, they look likely to leave the teams of sprinters like Tom Boonen to do the work if they want to reel the duo in later in the stage.

1234: There is still no word on Hushovd, whose quest for the green jersey as top sprinter looks likely to be damaged by his arm injury even if he carries on through the pain. He is unlikely to contest any of the three intermediate sprints in today's stage.

1223: The second climb of stage two, the Col de Valsberg, was won by:
1 Aitor Hernandez (EUS) 4pts
2 David De la Fuente (SDV) 3pts
3 Jerome Pineau (BTL) 2pts

Fabian Wegmann finished fourth so has currently been displaced as mountain king by Hernandez. The peloton was 9:20 behind over the top.

1211: The second summit of the day - the category three Col de Valsberg - is at the 50km mark. On the climb, the lead has steadied at 10:15, thanks to the attentions of the Discovery team.

1200: The points for the first climb of the stage - the category three Col des Pandours - were:
1 Aitor Hernandez (EUS) 4pts
2 David De la Fuente (SDV) 3pts
3 Fabian Wegmann (GST) 2pts

The peloton was 10:35 behind the first two riders over the summit, at the 35.5km mark. Wegmann retains the Polka Dot jersey lead as King of the Mountains for now.

1150: Spaniards De la Fuente and Hernandez are now 11 minutes 40 seconds ahead of the peloton, which is at the 31km mark. Hernandez is the yellow jersey on the road, after starting the stage 48 seconds behind George Hincapie. Hincapie's Discovery team are now leading the chase to make sure they don't get too big a lead.

1130: Credit Agricole team director Roger Legeay says he will assess Thor Hushovd's condition over the first 50km. The prologue winner collided with an object in the crowd during Sunday's sprint and cut his right arm. He had stitches overnight but does not have full movement in the arm and is still in pain.

1055: After 4km of racing, we have our first breakaway. The attack was instigated by Aitor Hernandez of the Euskatel-Euskadi team and he was joined by Saunier-Duval rider David de la Fuentes.