For a dominant team like SD Walks, anything short of victory probably feels like a disappointment. That's exactly how yellow-jerseyed Lotte Kopecký felt about her second-place finish after suffering a puncture in the uphill sprint to Mauriac on stage 2 of the Tour de France.

"I didn't start [the sprint] too early. But after the start, I didn't feel any grip on the rear wheel," Kopecky told the press, saying he was surprised to find a flat tire on his rear wheel after the finish.

"I'm disappointed with second place because the team did a great job today. But we should be happy that none of us crashed and we were able to hold our position on GC."

The rain-soaked second stage of the Tour de France Femme took place over the undulating 151.7 km route Clermont-Ferrand-Mauriac.

The final climb was 5 km, but was interrupted by a slight drop in the terrain through the Flamme Rouge and kicked up 500 m from the finish.

"I was really nervous about the race. The road surface was slippery and there was one last descent before the final climb. It started to rain at the end and I was very nervous," Kopecky said.

An attack by Kopecký's teammate, Marlen Reusser, set the pace high for the final climbing section. When she was caught, Demi Volering led Kopecký, looking for her second consecutive Tour win.

Volering explained that she did not know that Kopecký had a flat tire on the last pitch from the final roundabout.

I was pretty scared at that point and ran really carefully. I would have rather lost a few seconds than crash," Vollering said of the chaotic race to Mauriac.

"I sprinted for Lotte in the final, but it was only afterwards that she noticed the puncture. If I had known that, I would have sprinted for the stage win myself." She said that Cahors to Rodez on stage 4 and Lannemezan to Col du Tourmalet on stage 7 would be her main targets.

"Maybe I could have won 10 seconds (bonus), but I want to save my legs for Wednesday and Saturday.

As for Kopecky, she explained that she did not notice the puncture until she passed behind Lippert and saw his rear wheel.

"When I was behind Demi in the last corner, I felt something was wrong with the bike. I thought, 'What's going on?'" said Kopecky.

"When Demi started to open up the lead and I started to sprint, I knew something was wrong. I just kept sprinting to the line, but after the finish I realized my rear wheel had a flat tire."

Kopecký finished just behind the day's winner, Liane Lippert (Movistar), with Silvia Persico (UAE Team Emirates) finishing third. Kopecký acknowledged Lippert's strength on the climb and that she was one of the favorites to win the second stage.

"It was a good finish for Liane Lippert. She is very strong in these finishes and deserves to win," Kopecky said.

The third stage from Collonges-la-Rouge to Montignac-Lascaux looks like one for the sprinters, with SD Worx planning to work for Lorena Wiebes.

"Tomorrow is not as hard as today, the final is flatter and more suitable for Lorena. It all depends on how the race goes, whether there is a breakaway or not."