Greipel makes it two out of two at Eneco Tour

Andre Greipel wins, Eneco Tour 2011, stage two

Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) won the second stage of the Eneco Tour this afternoon, adding to his first-stage victory yesterday. 

The German sprinter beat Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) to the line in a bunch sprint. He won by a length after hanging behind Farrar and Boasson Hagen in the lead-out and kicking past them after the last corner.

Team Sky were prominent in the final kilometers working for Boasson Hagen and, although Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) in particular did well in delivering him to the finish, he was boxed-in at the decisive moment and was unable to fully unleash his sprint.

The run-in was not completely straightforward for the race's sprinters - strong crosswinds forced a split in the peloton with forty kilometers to go. Although the group came together again, when the break was caught with twenty-two kilometers remaining the bigger teams had to work hard to keep the pace high and prevent attacks.

Young American Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) kept the leader's jersey which he won in the prologue on Monday, finishing the stage sixth.

With bonus seconds allocated to the top finishers on each stage, Boasson Hagen closed the gap to him and now lies in second overall - three seconds back. Briton David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo) lies in third five seconds further down.

Tomorrow's stage heads from Heers to Ardennes over 191.2km, with a more hilly parcours than today's.  

Eneco Tour stage 2 result: Aarlter-Ardooie

1. André Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto

2. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Cervelo

3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Sky  

4. Jean-Pierre Drucker (Luxembourg) VWA

5. Baden Cooke (Aus) SBS

6. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC

7. Tom Veelers (Neth) Skil-Shimano  

8. Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre

9. Michael Van Staeyan (Bel) TSV

10. Mark Renshaw (Australia) HTC-Highroad

General Classification after stage 2

1. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC

2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Sky at 3 secs

3. David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Cervelo at 8 secs

4. Alex Rasmussen (Den) HTC-Highroad 9 secs

5. André Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto

6. Lars Boom (Neth) Rabobank both at 10 secs

Geraint Thomas, Eneco Tour 2011, stage two

Geraint Thomas gets some assistance

Sam Bewley, Eneco Tour 2011, stage two

Sam Bewley heads the escape group

Christian Knees chases, Eneco Tour 2011, stage two

Christian Knees chases

Andre Greipel wins, Eneco Tour 2011, stage two

Andre Greipel takes his second consecutive stage win

Taylor Phinney leads, Eneco Tour 2011, stage two

Taylor Phinney remains in the overall lead

Related links

Phinney takes Eneco prologue, Millar and Thomas in top ten

Thor Hushovd to join BMC

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Founded in 1891, Cycling Weekly and its team of expert journalists brings cyclists in-depth reviews, extensive coverage of both professional and domestic racing, as well as fitness advice and 'brew a cuppa and put your feet up' features. Cycling Weekly serves its audience across a range of platforms, from good old-fashioned print to online journalism, and video.