Team Sky kept their powder dry on stage two at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco as the peloton sprinted it out into Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Sergio Henao, Kanstantsin Siutsou, David Lopez and Vasil Kiryienka all finished in the lead group to maintain their positions at the head of the race, sitting on the same time as race leader Michael Matthew (Orica-GreenEdge) after two stages.
With no time bonuses the GC remains tight, and Team Sky sat in the pack for much of the 175.4-kilometre test ahead of more selective stages to come.
Fabio Felline (Trek Factory Racing) jumped early in the sprint to claim victory in a fast finish, edging out Matthews and a tight group of contenders at the line.
The pace had ramped up significantly on the approach to the Alto de Zaldiaran, and it was all back together with 14km to go as the remainder of the day's five-man break were caught.
Movistar had again been content to tap out a tempo on the front, not panicking as the gap hit 10 minutes, with Orica-GreenEdge eventually joining the fray on behalf of Matthews.
Six categorised climbs reduced the bunch slightly and after a late move from Tom-Jelte Slagter (Cannondale-Garmin) was fended off the race came back together for a sprint.
Ben Swift did not complete the stage after struggling during the start of the event. Not feeling like he had his normal legs, the Yorkshireman will now head home to rest and recover ahead of his next block of racing.
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