Van Hummel victorious in Knokke-Heist

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Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano) has won the bunch sprint of the second stage of the Tour of Belgium in Knokke-Heist on Thursday. The Dutchman beat Jimmy Casper (Saur-Sojasun) and Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) to the line, with Oscar Freire (Rabobank) puncturing in the race finale.

In the finish, Van Hummel thanked two teams: his own Skil-Shimano outfit, and Bozic's Vacasoleil squad. "I was able to finish the big job of the whole of the team," the Dutchman said. "This is also the victory of the whole group. I thank all of those who rode for me.

"Vacansoleil formed an ideal train for Bozoc. I took his wheel and it turned out to be the right choice. Bozic ran out of gas on the last (uphill) metres and I was able to come past him," he summed up the race finale.

The second stage took the peloton from Eeklo to Knokke-Heist on the Belgian coast, and had an ideal profile for a bunch sprint. The first two hours of racing were fast at 48 km/h, as many riders tired to break off the front. Finally, a three-men group was established with Benjamin Gourgue (Crédit Agricole), Nico Eeckhout (An Post-Sean Kelly) and Grégory Habeaux (Veranda Willems).

The Omega Pharma-Lotto team of overall leader Philippe Gilbert then took control over the pace and controlled the escape perfectly. With 20 kilometres to go, the trio was caught, and a new race began.

Despite some counter initiatives notably by Jan Kuyckx (Qin) and Andy Capelle (Veranda Willems), a mass sprint was inevitable. But big favourite Freire was terribly unlucky, as he suffered a mechanical just as the bunch turned in onto the finishing straight. He did not crash, but the possible stage win was immediately lost for the Spaniard.

Vacansoleil put up a perfect lead-out for Bozic, but the Slovenian could not deliver as he was passed by Van Hummel, for whom it was the second victory in his pro career.

Race leader Gilbert spent the day well-protected by his team. "It was a relaxed das today," he said in the finish. "In the beginning, it was a fast ride but my team showed its strength. I don't think of the overall victory in this Tour of Belgium yet. I took a stage victory, but of course I would not let the chance of an overall victory slip by."