When Sylvain Chavanel put down the hammer in today's hilly and windy second stage of the Giro d'Italia, only one rider could keep up with him. Neo-pro Michael Valgren proved his great potential by following the two-time winner of the race and was even just centimetres away from taking a surprise stage victory.

Tinkoff-Saxo’s Danish national champion, Michael Mørkøv was very active during today’s 197 kilometer long third stage of 4 Days at Dunkerque where he first participated in the long-lasting breakaway with 9 other riders. The windy and slightly hilly course secured drama and suspense with two Tinkoff-Saxo riders in the main characters.
 

"Being a neo-pro, Michael (Valgren) showed class out there today," sports director Tristan Hoffman said. "He didn't get in this position by being lucky. He created the situation by himself and was followed by one of the absolute strongest riders in the peloton and he was even just centimeters away from taking the stage as well.

"Now, he's third overall behind Démare and Chavanel, which means that their two teams have to take responsibility in the front of the pack while we can wait for the right moment to launch an attack."

Valgren is now third overall - 5 seconds behind Démare.