Eneco Tour: Arnaud Demare takes overall lead with impressive win on stage two in Brussels

Arnaud Demare powered clear of Philippe Gilbert in the closing stages

The 21-year-old FDJ rider overcame a late climb and then surged clear of the field with a superb burst of pace to beat Philippe Gilbert (BMC) into second and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) into third.

He now heads the general classification by three seconds from previous leader Mark Renshaw (Belkin), who was unable to contest the sprint finish after suffering a puncture inside the final 3km.

The victory came just nine days after Demare claimed victory in the inaugural RideLondon-Surrey Classic in similarly impressive style.

Wiggins sheds more time

Sir Bradley Wiggins finished in a group one minute 22 seconds behind and is now 147th in the general classification, 5min 20sec adrift.

The 176.9km second stage started in Ardooie and took in a series of climbs before an uphill finish in Vorst, just outside Brussels city centre.

Team Sky's Mathew Hayman, Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise duo Laurens de Vreese and Tim Declercq and Ag2r-La Mondiale's Gediminas Bagdonas formed a four-man breakaway and quickly built up a healthy gap of over seven minutes, but their ranks were reduced to three when Bagdonas was dropped on a small climb 15km out.

The remaining trio still had over 30 seconds' advantage going into the final 6km, but despite a brave fight, they were eventually swallowed up just over 2km from home.

Renshaw thwarted

Renshaw's hopes were then dashed by a flat tyre, while up ahead, a six-man group broke off the front of the pack at the bottom of the final ascent with around 1km to go.

Daniel Oss responded by towing BMC team-mate and world champion Gilbert surging past them at high speed, but Demare was in the duo's slipstream and as soon as the incline levelled out, he launched an unstoppable sprint for the line.

Earlier in the day, Britain's Alex Dowsett (Movistar) was forced to abandon the race after dislocating both thumbs in a crash, while fellow Englishman Ben Swift (Team Sky) did not start the stage due to shoulder pain.

Stage two result

1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ, 4:03:34
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC, same time
3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp, st
4 Marko Kump (Slo) Saxo-Tinkoff, st
5 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, st
6 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent.jobs - Wanty, st
7 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida, st
8 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC, st
9 Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin, st
10 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ, st
Selected other
124 Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky, +1:22

General classification

1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ, 8:04:40
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Belkin, +3sec
3 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC, +4
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp, +6
5 Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin, +7
6 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC, +8
7 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol, +9
8 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, +10
9 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ, st
10 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent.jobs - Wanty, st
Selected other
147 Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky, +5:20