Danny Van Poppel finally took an overdue first win in Sky colours when he came out on top in a photo finish on the second stage of the Tour de Yorkshire. In a very close sprint, he narrowly held off Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) who retained his overall lead, while Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) again completed the podium.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Danny Van Poppel: Now I think I am back

Danny van Poppel edged out a superb sprint victory after a photo finish to stage two at the Tour De Yorkshire.

 

The Dutchman timed his run to perfection in Doncaster, squeezing down the left-hand side of the road to narrowly fend off race leader Dylan Groenewegen by the slenderest of margins.

 

His first victory in Team Sky colours also saw Van Poppel elevate himself up to second overall, six seconds back on compatriot Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) after a pair of chaotic sprints in the race's opening two days.

 

Team Sky were content to sit back for much of the event's 135.5km middle stage, before finally hitting the front as a group with 3.5km to go.

 

"The team did a great job, that's the first thing to say," said Van Poppel after the race. "We were really motivated. The last two kilometres it was raining and really hectic. The team did the best they could to really take care of me and then in the last few hundred metres Dylan came really close, but I just knew that I'd won. It was a hectic few minutes.

 

"I've had a knee injury and this is maybe my ninth or 10th race (this year). I really needed this victory. There have been some hard times but now I think I'm back! It's my first victory for Team Sky and it's really cool to ride for this team."

 

Gianni Moscon and Andy Fenn both finished inside the top 20 after strong work in the sprint, while Lars Petter Nordhaug and Nicolas Roche both sit at 16 seconds back heading into Sunday's deciding stage.

 

Dylan Groenwegen: I was the fastest rider

Dylan Groenewegen finished second in the second stage of the Tour de Yorkshire today. In the blue leader’s jersey, Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter was a tyre’s width too short of Danny van Poppel (Team Sky). Groenewegen holds the overall lead.

 

Groenewegen and his team-mates led the bunch in the second stage. Tom Leezer started and the team in yellow and black continued for Groenewegen. They put him in the right position for the final sprint.

 

“We controlled the stage tightly and wanted to take the lead again in the final kilometre,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “We succeeded. That was an impressive performance by the team. In the final sprint, Dylan hesitated for a second and that opened the window for Danny van Poppel.”

 

“I didn’t see the finish well,” Groenewegen explained. “I thought that the finish line was a little bit further. That’s why I hesitated for a moment and the others were able to take a metre’s advantage.

 

“If you just look at the top speed, I was the fastest again today. The team worked hard for me in front of the bunch and delivered another strong lead-out. That makes it even more disappointing that I didn’t win, but I learn from these moments.

 

“Tomorrow, we’re going to fight for Steven Kruijswijk and Primoz Roglic. I will bring some bottles and bars for them. After these two days, it’s my turn to pay back their work.”

 

Groenewegen’s team spirit is typical for of the way Team LottoNL-Jumbo approached the first two stages.

 

“Our riders are really improving in this task,” Zeeman added. “We’re paying much attention to that and everyone is getting used to work together more and more. Timo Roosen filled the gap that Tom Leezer’s absence created without any problems today. I enjoyed watching a convinced team.”

 

Nikias Arndt hopes to defend third place in Yorkshire queen stage

It was a hectic finish in the streets of Doncaster as the teams positioned their leaders. Team Giant-Alpecin were grouped near the front of the peloton as they were preparing the lead-out for Nikias Arndt. Once again he had to settle for the 3rd place as Danny van Poppel won the sprint in a photo finish.

 

In the overall classification, Arndt is still 3rd and he will try and defend that position during tomorrow’s final stage.

 

Nikias Arndt gave his thoughts after the race: “The guys did a great lead-out but I’m a little bit disappointed with the result. I just got boxed in and I didn’t have enough space to have the perfect sprint. For tomorrow, it will be a tough stage for sure and I will do my best to keep my third position in the general classification.”

 

Coach Luke Roberts said: “It was a short and uneventful stage today. The goal was to sprint with Nikias and the team did a good job in terms of communicating together and sticking with the plan.

 

“Nikias was in a good position to start the sprint but he missed a little bit of instinct in the sprint itself to make the difference.”

 

Another great day for ONE Pro Cycling in Yorkshire

ONE Pro Cycling delivered another superb performance as Richard Handley defended the KOM Jersey for the team and Chris Opie sprinted home in 4th.

 

The peloton rolled out at 2.20pm, a late start following the Women’s race which took place in the morning. A break of 6 formed almost immediately with ONE Pro Cycling’s Richard Handley included in the mix.

 

Within the first 20km there were 2 King of the Mountain Classifications up for grabs. Looking to defend the jersey for the team, Handley dug deep taking both and collecting a total of four points.

 

The break then settled only being allowed a maximum of 2 minutes due to the short nature of the stage. An intense pace was set by the peloton reducing the gap to 1 minute, which was held for the next 50km.

 

As the peloton approached the second and final sprint point, one lone rider went off the front bridging the gap and joining the breakaway to create a strong group of seven. Fast approaching the last KOM of the day, Richard Handley positioned himself amongst the leaders ready to make his move. Surging forward Handley won the third and final KOM accumulating 2 further points and succeeding in his goal of retaining the jersey for the team.

 

Following the final KOM Handley dropped back to the peloton leaving 4 riders in the break but the intense pace set by the bunch meant they were quickly swallowed up with only 10km remaining.

 

On the approach into Doncaster the team started to get into position with the aim of setting up Chris Opie for the inevitable bunch sprint to the line. On the run into the finish ONE Pro Cycling left it late to deliver their sprinter to the front, however picking his way through and taking up the sprint early Opie opened up a podium opportunity. With 100m to go Opie was leading the sprint but tying up just short of the line saw him take a very credible 4th place with the rest of the team finishing safely behind. The overall standings currently see Richard Handley sitting in 10th position with Dion Smith in 20th.

 

Rick Zabel gains confidence from solid sprint in Yorkshir

Rick Zabel sprinted to seventh for BMC.

 

“First of all it was an unusually late start and a short stage so everyone was still quite fresh in the sprint. I felt good and I’m currently preparing for the Giro d’Italia so I’m quite happy with my legs right now. We tried with 30 kilometers to go on the last climb to speed things up a little bit and I think we were only 30 guys in front. But it was too far out so no one wanted to work with us on the attack so it was a bunch sprint in the end,” he said.

 

“I tried my best and was looking for a result before the Giro d’Italia to give me a bit of confidence going into it. It always nice to have a result going into a Grand Tour so this gives me a good feeling after my training in the last few weeks.

 

Caleb Ewan nowhere to be seen in Yorkshire bunch sprint

A short and fast stage two of the Tour De Yorkshire saw the early breakaway stay clear until the final few kilometres when Orica-GreenEDGE took control at the front of the peloton and brought the race back together for the sprint finish.

 

Young Dane Magnus Cort was the team’s best placed rider in tenth place while Caleb Ewan sits in fourth position on the overall general classification only ten seconds down going into tomorrow’s third and final stage.

 

Sport director Matt Wilson spoke frankly when describing today’s stage.

 

“It was a really fast stage,” said Wilson. “The race was over in around three hours and we had ridden fantastically up until the finish where, basically we got swamped and crowded out.

“We ended up losing position in the last few hundred and metres and obviously we are disappointed about that. The guys kept things under control really well for most of the race but we didn’t have it in the finale.”

 

“Tomorrow is a long stage,” continued Wilson. “Nearly 200kilometres and it is probably the hardest of the three day’s but we are here to compete and we will give our all to try and get a result.”

 

Katusha captain crashes out of the Tour de Yorkshire

For Team Katusha riding in the 2nd Tour of Yorkshire, today’s stage ended in another group sprint, this one so close it was initially hard to call, but finally awarded to Danny van Poppel of Team Sky. During the day it was team rider Michael Mørkøv, who is celebrating today his 31st birthday, trying to make something happen on the 135,5 km stage from Otley to Doncaster.

 

“Today we had Michael Mørkøv in the break the whole day. He did a good job in front, but the peloton never gave them too much ground. So with 10 km to go this break was caught,” explained team director José Azevedo.

 

“We had more bad luck today – at km 50-60 Tiago Machado crashed hard.  He tried to continue in the race, but was forced to abandon after 5 km because of strong pain in his back. Now after the race he is feeling better and has less pain. So for tomorrow we will still have our GC guys Jurgen Van de Broeck and Angel Vicioso,” concluded Azevedo.

 

No luck for Mark Renshaw in Yorkshire bunch sprint

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka were riding for Mark Renshaw in the final and the African Team went shoulder to shoulder with the other sprint trains.

 

As the peloton charged into Doncaster, Team Sky had the upper hand with a well organised leadout. Going under the 1km to go sign, Renshaw was in the thick of the action but unfortunately lost a few places just before the sprint started. He wasn't able to recover from there and Van Poppel took the win by mere millimetres from Groenewegen. On the general classification, the African Team has Serge Pauwels sitting 10th overall going into tomorrow's final stage.

 

Sports director Roger Hammond said:

 

“Today's stage was a lot more straight forward than yesterday. With very little opportunity to break up the peloton the bunch stayed together for most of the day. We tried to take Mark Renshaw to the line for the bunch sprint but unfortunately he lost position with 600m to go.”