Arnaud Demare (FDJ) won the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in a spectacular sprint for the finish in Arlanc.
The Frenchman won the stage by two lengths, leaving Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) to take second and third respectively.
“I knew it would be a hard day and a bunch sprint finish wasn’t a sure thing,” said Demare.
“Overall, it was a demanding stage but we were well focused at the end. I knew it could suit me and I’m happy to see the hard work paying off.”
The top riders here to prepare for the Tour de France finished safely in the main bunch as Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) retained the overall leader’s jersey.
CLASS ?@EquipeFDJ rider @ArnaudDemare destroys his rivals on Stage Two of #Dauphine pic.twitter.com/2YwOJ0nQnt
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) 5 iunie 2017
Criterium du Dauphine 2017 – stage 2 results (Saint-Chamond – Arlanc):
| 1 | Arnaud Demare (FDJ) | 4:13:53 |
| 2 | Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 3 | Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 4 | Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida) | ,, |
| 5 | Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 6 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) | ,, |
| 7 | Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 8 | Pascal Ackermann (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 9 | Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale-Drapac) | ,, |
| 10 | Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) | ,, |
General classification after stage 2:
| 1 | Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) | 8:30:47 |
| 2 | Axel Domont (AG2R) | +48” |
| 3 | Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) | +01’03” |
| 4 | Pierre Latour (AG2R) | +01’07” |
| 5 | Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 6 | Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida) | +01’09” |
| 7 | Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 8 | Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale-Drapac) | ,, |
| 9 | Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) | ,, |
| 10 | Julien Simon (Cofidis) | ,, |
