Danish sprinter Magnus Cort has taken 7th position on the first day of the Eneco Tour, which saw Elia Viviani (SKY) take the stage win in a bunch sprint.

The stage which started and finished in Bolsward saw a breakaway group caught with 16km to go, and several teams jostling for position to try and take the sprint.

With the ORICA-GreenEDGE team well placed once the breakaway was caught, Belgian Jens Keukeleire, who is looking for an overall result, crashed as he negotiated a roundabout with 6km to go. After teammates Sam Bewley and Jens Mouris went back to help him, he caught back up with the peloton, ensuring he stays in the mix for the General Classification.

Despite Keukeleire’s crash, this didn’t stop the rest of the team working well for Cort in the last few kilometres. As the race closed in on the finish line, Adam Blythe led Cort out, and after momentarily leading the race, he couldn’t quite hold on, getting pushed back into 7th position.

“We are pleased with today’s stage,” said Sport Director Laurenzo Lapage.”The team were riding for each other, and wanted to fight for each other. Sometimes at this stage in the season this doesn’t happen so it is great to see the spirit.

“The race went as we suspected with a bunch finish and although the wind can often make the sprints messy, it was okay today. The last 50km we worked really well as a team, and for Magnus for finish 7th, I think the team did a great job.

“Jens (Keuleleire) is fine despite his crash. It wasn’t a bad crash, he just lost a bit of skin, but he is not hurt and will be fine for tomorrow. He caught up quickly with the rest of the peloton, so it is not a problem for his standings and for the rest of the Tour.

“Tomorrow will be a very similar race as today, as will stage three. Tomorrow we will work for our sprinters again, maybe Magnus, or maybe Leigh (Howard)."

Tomorrow’s stage is another one for the sprinters. Starting and finishing in the Dutch town of Breda, the 180.7km stage is a circuit race on a flat course, with traffic islands offering the technical challenges in the mid part of the race.