Moreno Hofland confirmed his great potential when he won a stage in Paris-Nice in just his second season as a professional by holding off John Degenkolb in the uphill sprint. Having made a long sprint, he wanted to surprise his rivals and he did so with an impressive sprint that saved the day for Belkin who lost Lars Boom due to a crash.

Moreno Hofland dashed to an impressive victory Monday in the second stage at Paris-Nice thanks to an excellent leadout from his Belkin Pro Cycling Team team-mates. Belkin positioned the 22-year-old Dutchman perfectly going into a late right-hander in the 205km stage from Rambouillet to Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche, and Hofland had the legs to make a long sprint to snag victory ahead of John Degenkolb of Germany.

Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni crossed the line third to defend the leader's jersey in the eight-day French race.

"It's a great victory. The team rode great today. The stage was hectic again, because there were some crosswinds. We all tried to be in the front at the dangerous points," a happy Hofland said after the podium ceremony. "I wanted to surprise the bunch, so I made a long sprint. I jumped with 250 metres to go, and no one came around me. I am so happy, because this is a big race. This is Paris-Nice!"

Belkin rode as a unit through some swirling crosswinds to set up Hofland for a chance at the win. A two-man breakaway was reeled in over undulating terrain in the closing hour of racing to set up the mass sprint. Hofland, second in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne last weekend, surprised the favorites to confirm his impressive start of just his second pro season.

"Lars Boom crashed, which was a pity because he was supposed to be my leadout man, so we had to improvise," Hofland said. "With 2km to go, I was so far back I thought I had no chance. I found an opening on the left, and then Jos [Van Emden] took me to the front, and did such a great job dropping me off on the wheel of Degenkolb. Then I was able to make my sprint."

Hofland's victory carries on a family tradition of sorts. His father, Peter, rode to fifth in a stage during the 1984 Paris-Nice while riding for the Dutch amateur team.

"My dad was telling me about his race in Paris-Nice just last week. Now I am better than he is. That's in the pocket," Hofland said. "After finishing second at Kuurne, now to win at Paris-Nice, I just cannot believe it. It's very special to win a stage in this race.

"The last couple of weeks were pretty good for me and I'm hoping to hold this form as long as possible. Tomorrow is my last chance to win another. I improved a lot in the last seasons and I made tests in the winter showing how fast I could go but I was not expecting to peak so fast.

"My objective this season is to take part in the classics and keep learning. I don't really have role models in cycling but I like aggressive riders like Peter Sagan and Tom Boonen. There's a great new generation of sprinters coming up and it's very exciting."

There was a spate of bad luck when team captain Lars Boom crashed with about 10km to go. The former cyclocross world champion managed to finish the stage, but he went to hospital with a team doctor after crossing the finish line.

"We don't know if there is anything wrong yet. He's in the hospital to check it out, but he hurt his elbow and wrist," Belkin sport director Merijn Zeeman said. "It's a real pity. We hope he's OK, because his important classics season is coming up."

It has later been confirmed that Lars Boom has a minor fracture in his right elbow. He will receive an in-dept medical check up in the Netherlands tomorrow.

Hofland will have another shot at victory in Tuesday's 180km third stage that finishes on a former Formula One race track.

"Tomorrow will be a more quiet day, but we will make a plan and try again," Zeeman said. "The race later this week will be more difficult. We’ll have Wilco [Kelderman] and Lars-Petter [Nordhaug] as GC options. The race is harder than people think. We will see the climbers move to the front. It will be an exciting week."

You can read our stage preview here and follow our live coverage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.