Sir Bradley Wiggins struggles as Christophe Riblon wins stage two of the Tour de Pologne

Christophe Riblon continued his fine form from the Tour de France

Riblon (Ag2r-La Mondiale), fresh from a sensational triumph on Alpe d'Huez at the Tour de France, attacked 8km out from the summit finish on the Passo Pordoi and then drove on to beat second-placed Thomas Rohregger (RadioShack-Leopard) by 1min 2sec.

He narrowly missed out on taking the overall lead of the race, though, as Rafal Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Sergio Henao (Team Sky) both finished 1min 35sec down to move into first and second in the general classification respectively.

Wiggins, meanwhile, was earlier dropped for the second day in succession and eventually crossed the line 15min 40sec back as his current lack of race condition and form was further underlined.

Summit finish

Previous race leader and stage one winner Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) also endured a difficult day after being distanced by the peloton on the second of the three category-one climbs and losing over 27 minutes.

The 206.5km stage, which started in Marilleva Val di Sole, presented the race's second summit finish in a row and a 16-man breakaway packed with climbing talent duly moved clear early in the race.

Giro d'Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Riblon were the biggest names among the escapees and they built up a lead that reached its peak at five-and-a-half minutes.

However, it began to split apart on the first climb, the Passo Pampeago Val di Fiemme, when Nibali attacked alongside Rohregger and a lead group of five men formed on the subsequent descent.

Riblon too strong

Nibali paid for his exertions, though, as he was soon dropped, but with two other riders bridging, a front six united and held a lead of just over two minutes leading on the final climb of the Pordoi.

Riblon made an initial move alongside Rohregger 10.5km out, but then surged clear solo with a stinging burst just before the 8km-to-go banner.

Clearly in the same mood and form as he was for his famous win on Alpe d'Huez ten days earlier, the 32-year-old breezed up the average 6.8 per cent inclines and another impressive victory never looked in doubt.

Wiggins was not alone in struggling up the climb, as Nibali finished a huge 23min 44sec down on Riblon in 60th place.

The race is set to take in a rest day on Monday as the teams relocate to Poland from stage three onwards.

Stage two result

1 Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, 6:03:40
2 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) RadioShack-Leopard, +1:02
3 Georg Preidler (Aut) Argos-Shimano, +1:18
4 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky, +1:35
5 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo-Tinkoff, same time
6 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge, +1:38
7 Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Saxo-Tinkoff, +1:40
8 Jon Izaguirre (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, +1:44
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack-Leopard, +1:47
Selected others
53 Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky, +15:40
60 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana, +23:44

General classification

1 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo-Tinkoff, 11:04:43
2 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky, +4secs
3 Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +6
4 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEDGE, +7
5 Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Saxo-Tinkoff, +9
6 Jon Izagirre (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, same time
7 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar, +13
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
9 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack-Leopard, +16
10 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) RadioShack-Leopard, +18
Selected others
49 Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky, +23:22
60 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana, +31:26