Dan Martin continued to leave his mark on the 2008 Route du Sud by finishing 6th in today’s mountain time trial. His strong ride moved him up to 2nd overall and just 17″ seconds off the leader. Australian Trent Lowe finished 7th in today’s race against the clock and just under two minutes off the stage winner.

Dan’s climbing talents along with his passion for the Pyrénées puts him among the favorites for tomorrow’s four mountain stage. Starting in Pierrefitte-Nestalas, the stage includes the Col du Tourmalet, Col du Val Louron, Col du Peyresourde and a finish on Super Bagneres. Besides the climbs, young Dan has some hungry, older competitors to face down. Third is Frenchman Christophe Moreau, who in his final year of competition is also focused on a win at home.

Second overall to Lelarge in the points classification, Dan will wear the green points jersey tomorrow.

Team Garmin-Chipotle H30 stage 2 results
1. Noan Lelarge 36′05″

6. Dan Martin +1′39″
7. Trent Lowe +1′53″
29. Christophe Laurent +3′29″
50. Tom Danielson +4′13″
51. Tom Peterson +4′23″
71. Kilian Patour +5′33″
100. Tyler Farrar +7′55″
106. Will Frischkorn +9′01″

Team Garmin-Chipotle H30 GC
1. Noan Lelarge 5h29′51″
2. Dan Martin +17″
3. Christophe Moreau +1′01″

21. Trent Lowe +37′38″
40. Christophe Laurent +39′14″
57. Tom Danielson +39′58″
58. Tom Peterson +40′08″
77. Kilian Patour +41′18″
101. Tyler Farrar +43′40″
106. Will Frischkorn +44′46″

Points Classification Overall
1. Noan Lelarge 22 pts
2. Dan Martin 21 pts
3. Simon Gerrans 20 pts
4. Christophe Moreau 19 pts

13. Trent Lowe 9 pts