Arnaud Demare made it look easy when he crushed the opposition in today's second stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk but in fact the Frenchman had had a tough day in the saddle. Early in the very windy and rainy stage, he didn't feel too confident in his chances but by virtue of excellent team support, he managed to double his tally.

Arnaud Demare has been extremely dominant in the first part of the 4 Days of Dunkirk and today he seemed to be entirely at ease when he won the second stage of the race in another sprint finish. Having been forced to launch his sprint from afar due to a gusty late-race attack by Edwig Cammaerts, he gapped the entire peloton and only a long victory celebration prevented him from gaining time on his rivals.

The stage was no easy affair though as it was held in rainy, cold conditions and included a difficult pavé section in the finale. In fact Demare found himself in the second group when the peloton split during the penultimate passage of the cobbles but he managed to rejoin the front in time for the sprint finish.

Demare admitted that it had been a tough day and that he had not been too confident in his chances.

"A victory is never easy," he told L'Equipe. "The team did a great job. Early in the day I hadn't too much confidence in my legs. My team really did a good job. We didn't want to attack on the pavé as the sector was still far from the finish. It was better to stay together in order to control the race to the finish. I just had to follow. Despite the rain and everything, we managed to have a good race.

"Tomorrow it will still be difficult. We will pass some climbs. Okay, maybe not big mountains but the climbers will give it a go. Last year, I just had to survive one difficult stage. This year, it will be difficult tomorrow and on Saturday. Of course I will try to defend the pink jersey but there are several cards in the team."