Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka) proved his credentials in tough uphill sprints by winning the second stage of the Tour of Britain. On 400m, 8% climb to the finish, he reacted quickly when An Post tried to lead out Sam Bennett and even overcame a dropped chain in the final corner to reel in the An Post rider and pass him just before the line. With the win, he takes the leader's jersey from Elia Viviani (Cannondale).

Gerald Ciolek has had a fantastic season with his win in the Milan-Sanremo of course being his standout performance. After a quieter time, the German is now back in the headlines following his win on today's 2nd stage of the Tour of Britain.

Ciolek kept his calm in a tough uphill finish and was always well-placed near the front as Sky tried to reel in Thomas Löfkvist (IAM) who was still 10 seconds ahead when he passed the flamme rouge. He reacted quickly when three An Post riders accelerated, trying to lead out Sam Bennett on the tough 400m climb to the finish.

In the final corner, he dropped his chain and so Bennett built up a solid gap while he overtook a fading Löfkvist. Ciolek overcame the incident and gradually started to rebuild his speed, always getting closer to the young Irishman.

In a thrilling finish, the final climb was just a bit too long for Bennett who was passed by Ciolek just a few metres from the line. The MTN Qhubeka captain could raise his arms in celebration while Bennett was a disappointed runner-up.

6 seconds later, Löfkvist just managed to hold off Simon Yates (Great Britain) and Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) while the main peloton followed 3 seconds further adrift. Hence, big favourite Bradley Wiggins lost a few seconds on a tough day for his Sky team that was under constant attack.

With the win Ciolek takes the leader's jersey from Elia Viviani who was dropped along the way and he is now 20 seconds ahead of Yates and Golas on GC. He takes that lead into tomorrow's crucial 16km time trial that is expected to give a clear indication of Wiggins' form just a week ahead of the world championships.

A hilly profile

The 186,6km 2nd stage took the riders from Carlisle to Kendal and while the first part was relatively easy, the second half contained three difficult climbs. The stage finished with a 400m hill with an average gradient of 8-9%.

The stage was off to a very fast start and it took some time for the early break to be established. Peter Williams (IG Sigma Sport) was the first rider to get a noticeable but it came to nothing due to the fierce pace.

The break is formed

Finally, the elastic snapped and 7 riders were allowed to build up a gap. Michael Northey (Node 4 Giordana), Nicola Boem (Bardiani), Anthony Delaplace (Sojasun), Angel Madrazo (Movistar), Mathew Cronshaw (IG Sigma Sport), Jonathan Dibben (Great Britian) and Sean Downey (An Post) were allowed to build up a gap which reached its maximum at 3.15. Then Wiggins' Sky team decided to control proceedings and they put Bernhaid Eisel and Mathew Hayman on the front.

The Austrian-Australian duo kept the gap stable at around 2.30 for a long time while the riders for the second day in a row where challenged with cold, rainy and windy conditions. Unfortunately a big crash forced Robert Hunter (Garmin), Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) - who was one of the big favourites - and Hugh Carthy (Rapha Condor) to abandon.

Boem is dropped

With 86km to go, the riders passed the category 2 Fangs Brow (1,5km, 6,7%) and Downey accelerated off the front to pick up maximum points. After the top, he fell back to his companions and the cooperation was resumed.

With 76km to go, Boem fell off the pace and he was quickly swallowed up by the peloton in which Hayman and Eisel had now been joined by Juraj Sagan from Viviani's Cannondale team. Moments later, they hit the category  Honister Pass (3,8km, 6,3%) which had brutally steep sections near the top and that was when the race really came to life.

Quintana and Martin attack

Cronshaw was the first to lose contact with the breakaway which splintered to pieces. Madrazo and Northey escaped on their own while Delaplace was in lone pursuit and Dibben and Downey followed a little further behind.

However, the real action happened in the peloton from which Daniel Martin (Garmin) attacked. He was joined by Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and the duo of climbers built up a big gap while Sky tried to keep things under control in the splintering peloton. One of the riders to lose contact was race leader Viviani who never rejoined the main group.

Madrazo crashes

On the descent, the front sextet got back together but Madrazo was unfortunate to crash. Luckily, he escaped the incident without any serious injuries and quickly rejoined his companions.

Martin and Quintana cooperated well while Madrazo was informed by his sports directors not to do any work in the front group while he waited for his teammate Quintana to join him. At the bottom of the Chestnutt Hill (1,5km, 6,6%9 with 50km to go, Madrazo had a mechanical but managed to latch onto Martin and Quintana who flew past the front group.

A strong trio is formed

Madrazo was able to keep in contact with the duo and when they crested the summit, the three leaders cooperated well as they tried to keep the peloton at bay. The remainders of the early escape tried to get back but with 40km to go, Downey and Dibben were the last of those to be swallowed up.

In the peloton, Eisel and Hayman kept a high pace and they gradually got closer to the front group. With 36km to go, Madrazo was the first to give up and 1km further up the road, everything was back together.

Movistar aggressive

Movistar refused to give up and so launched Enrique Sanz up the road. The Spaniard was allowed to build up a 30-second gap while Eisel finally finished the day's work and left the pace-setting duties to Hayman and Joshua Edmondson.

With 21km to go, that duo brought the peloton back to Sanz but moments later Jacob Rathe (Garmin) launched another attempt. The American was allowed to build up a 20-second gap while a NetApp rider set off in pursuit.

Pirazzi tries his hand

On a small uncategorized climb, Stefan Pirazzi (Bardiani) and Lucas Euser (UnitedHealthCare) attacked and while Euser and the NetApp rider were quickly swallowed up by the peloton, Pirazzi continued on his own, overtaking a fading Rathe who was soon caught. The Giro king of the mountains stayed away for a little while but with 12km to go, David Lopez (Sky) brought things back together.

With 10km to go, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) launched a surprise move, the Brit knowing that the finish was too hard for him. He only stayed away for a short while and instead Löfkvist countered.

A pursuit

The Swede managed to build up a 12-second gap while Sky now had to use their final domestique Ian Stannard. All the way to the 500m to go sign, the stage was a battle between Löfkvist and Stannard and the gap remained stable at 10 seconds all the time.

When the peloton hit the final climb, An Post launched their 3-rider lead-out and suddenly Bennett was ahead with a big gap. He quickly overtook the tiring Löfkvist but Ciolek didn't plan an Irish win today. The German produced a powerful sprint to come around the young An Post rider just before the line.

Result:

1. Gerald Ciolek 5.05.01

2. Sam Bennett

3. Thomas Löfkvist +0.06

4. Simon Yates

5. Michal Golas

6. Jack Bauer +0.09

7. Martin Elmiger

8. Marco Coledan

9. Sergio Pardilla

10. Julien Vermote

General classification:

1. Gerald Ciolek 11.05.30

2. Simon Yates +0.20

3. Michal Golas

4. Marco Coledan +0.23

5. Sergio Pardilla

6. Julien Vermote

7. Martin Elmiger

8. Sacha Modolo

9. Scott Thwaites

10. Francesco Manuel Bongiorno