Arnaud Demare sprints to victory in stage two of the Criterium du Dauphine
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 05/06/17 4:11pm
Arnaud Demare dominated the rest of his sprint rivals to win the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in Arlanc.
The Frenchman launched his bid for glory some way from the finish line and was a good five bike lengths ahead of Alexander Kristoff with plenty of time for a celebration.
Demare, whose biggest victory came in the 2016 edition of Milan-San Remo, was claiming his sixth win of the season.
His compatriot Nacer Bouhanni finished third and there was no change at the top of the standings, with first stage winner Thomas de Gendt maintaining his 44-second lead.
Team Sky's Chris Froome, going for his fourth overall win in the race, finished safely in the peloton along with the rest of his main rivals in the eight-day race.
Stage 2 result:
1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 4hr 13min 53sec
2 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha all same time
3 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis
4 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Merida
5 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
Overall standings:
1 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 8hr 30min 47sec
2 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +48s
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates +1:03
4 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R +1:07
5 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora Hansgrohe same time
