Tour de France 2014: Vincenzo Nibali Wins Stage 2 By Two Seconds [VIDEO]

The pack of riders cycles on its way during the second 201 km stage of the Tour de France cycling race from York to Sheffield, July 6, 2014. REUTERS

2013 Giro d'Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali from Astana won Stage 2 of the Tour de France on Sunday by only two seconds.

The Italian rider's stayed near the front of the pack all throughout the course and cleverly shot ahead at the last two kilometers for his first ever win at the Tour de France. As the other riders hesitated with his breakaway, Nibali took advantage and claimed the victory over his rivals in just the nick of time.

A YouTube video of the Italian rider's celebration after the event showed that he was handed out with yellow jersey for the stage three run at the awarding ceremony. He then gave two cheek kisses at the podium girl on his right but he was rejected by the podium girl on the left so he kissed the stuffed lion instead.

Peter Sanan of Cannondale came in close second followed by Greg van Avermaet of BMC on the third place. Orica GreenEdge's Michael Albasini came in fourth and Team Sky's Chris Froome rounded up the fifth spot.

Peter Sanan acquired the green jersey while A2GR's Romain Bardet got the white one. Cyril Lemoine of Cofidis was handed out with the polka-dot colored jersey.

The relatively flat 201 kilometer run from York to Sheffield, United Kingdom was defined by nine punchy climbs scattered throughout the route. The steepest stretch for the entire event was 33 degrees which left some big time gaps at the end of the day.

Prior to the stage two event, fans were informed that Mark Cavendish of UCI ProTeam Omega Pharma-Quick Step was forced to end his Tour de France with a devastating crash at the final meters of stage one. The Guardian reported that British cyclist has damaged his collar bone and torn his ligaments which required a surgery forcing him to be off the bike for six weeks.

As he was wheeled into his team bus, Cavendish left some pained words to the reporters. "I held a bit of optimism that it was maybe just swelling and would go down overnight but it's actually worse. It's not possible to start from a medical point of view. I normally bounce back from some crashes quite well. I assessed my body and for the first time in my career I knew something was wrong."

He admitted that the accident was his fault for he leaned towards the Australian rider Simon Gerrans while moving towards the finish line. He later apologised and stated that he tried to find a gap that wasn't there.

Watch the Tour de France stage two riders passed by York from YouTube.