Tour du Poitou-Charentes: Bouhanni wins stage 2

Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) won stage 2 of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes on Wednesday, beating Elia Viviani (Team Sky) in a direct reversal of the result of the opening stage.

The Frenchman had more teammates than the Italian heading into the final few kilometres of the flat 185.7km stage from Saint-Savinien to Roumazières-Loubert, and even if it was the Direct Energie team who led out the sprint proper, Bouhanni had enough pace to hold off an in-form Viviani.

Damien Touzé (HP BTP-Auber 93) finished third to round out the podium.

Bouhanni not only beat Viviani but also took the leader's jersey off his shoulders. With time bonuses of 10, 6, and 4 seconds on offer on the line, the pair are now tied for time atop the general classification, both having finished first and second across the opening two stages, but the leadership was awarded to Bouhanni. 

Another flat stage offered slim hope to breakaway hopefuls but that didn't stop a group getting away in the opening kilometres. After around 10km, Mads Pedersen(Trek-Segafredo), Tom Bohli (BMC Racing Team), and Flavien Dassonville (HP BTP-Auber 93) were away, and after a few more kilometres they were joined by latecomer Jérémy Cabot (Roubaix-Lille Métropole) to make it four. 

They built up a lead of 3:30 but, despite the flat terrain, it was never allowed to grow beyond four minutes, as Viviani's Sky teammates took control of the peloton. 

Bouhanni's Cofids, along with Movistar and Armée de Terre, also chipped in to keep the escapees on a short leash, and by the time they had crossed the finish line for the first time to embark on a 25km finishing circuit, the gap was down to below two minutes.

With 15km to go the pace in the peloton was such that it split into three groups. The front group contained 40 riders and, despite a chase from Fortuneo-Oscaro, who'd clearly missed out, it was only they who would challenge for stage honours. With 10km to go Dassonville was caught, and the rest of the break didn't last much longer. Pedersen launched a solo attack and looked the strongest of the lot but he was caught by the peloton with 6km to go.

At that point, it was all about the build-up to the sprint, even if Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) tried to throw the cat among the pigeons with a brief late attack. Bouhanni, who won at the Tour de l'Ain after a barren Tour de France, emerged victorious to suggest he's back to his best after another campaign troubled by injury. 

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