Van Hummel winner in second stage sprint

Bouhanni disqualified; Degenkolb holds on to overall lead

Kenny Van Hummel of Vacansolei-DCM was declared the winner of the second stage of the Tour de Picardie which concluded with a field sprint finale. Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-Big Mat) actually crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified by the race jury after what was described as a “bumpy sprint”.

Stephane Poulhies (Saur-Sojasun) was second followed by race leader John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) in third, winner of the opening stage.

"Sometimes you need a bit of luck and after the sprint I felt that they might set Bouhanni back," said Van Hummel. "In the last 5km it was hard with the crosswind and I sprinted from a good position but wasn´t able to pass Bouhanni who needed a lot of space.

"I worked hard this winter and in races like Tirreno-Adriatico and Catalunya I felt I got stronger," continued Van Hummel. "Like every year I start winning at this time of the season but I have to say it was about to frustrate me that I didn´t take a win yet. The team and I worked hard on the sprint and it finally pays off. It is a nice challenge to work on a sprint as a team. I am happy the first is in and now I want a quick second win in which I cross the finish first."

Degenkolb, one of Argos-Shimano's German sprinters, easily retained his overall lead. Van Hummel moved up to second at four seconds, with Saxo Bank's Takashi Miyazawa in third place at eight seconds.

An early break comprised of Sébastien Turgot (Europcar), Arnoud Van Groen (Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda's) and Nico Sijmens (Cofidis) built up a maximum advantage approaching four minutes, but the trio were swept up with 10 kilometres remaining in the stage.

The Tour de Picardie concludes on Sunday with a 171km stage from Fressenneville to Maignelay-Montigny.

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