Nacer BouhannI (Cofidis) confirmed that he is ready to shine in the Vuelta a Espana when he powered to a second consecutive stage win in the Tour de l’Ain in the final sprint stage of the race. Delivered perfectly to the line by his teammates, he held of Rudy Barbier (Roubaix) and Barry Markus (LottoNL-Jumbo) and so extended his overall lead.

Going into the Tour de l’Ain, it was evident that Nacer Bouhanni was going to be the man to beat in the first two stages which were tailor-made for the sprinters. At the end of the first two road stages, the Frenchman has fully lived up to his status as he has come out on top on both occasions.

Bouhanni crashed out of the Tour de France but by winning the Circuit de Getxo less than two weeks ago he had confirmed that he was ready to shine on home soil. A ninth place in the prologue confirmed his form and yesterday he took his first stage win in the race.

Today he doubled his tally with another convincing sprint win but it was not only Bouhanni who shone in the stage. With just 6-rider teams, Cofidis faced a massive task if they wanted to control the stage but they did the job splendidly.

"It was not an easy tsgae today, especially because the wind was blowing hard in the final," he told Directvelo. "The team has done a big job to control the breakaway. They also received support from several teans, including Marseille 13-KTM, which has facilitated our task. 

"We realized yesterday that it was difficult to catch a group of six fugitives. So we paid attention in the early part of the stage not to allow groups of more than three riders to get clear, though ultimately the breakaway had four members. 

"I must highlight the work of Romain Hardy and Yoann Bagot who rode for many kilometers. Stéphane Rossetto then took things in hand in the final. He was very strong and has reduced the gap significantly. 

"I came to the Tour de l'Ain to win stages so it mission accomplished. I will now target the gruppetto for the last two days and refine my preparation for the Vuelta. If I can give something back to my teammates who have supported me perfectly so far, I will not hesitate to do so."

"The team did really well," coach Jacques Decrion told Directvelo. "Nacer's victory is a reward for the whole team. The riders have understood that by delivering Nacer 250 meters from the finish, he had every chance to win. That was the goal coming into this Tour de l'Ain, it was to get victories. I think Nacer can still survive tomorrow's stage. He is fresh and fit. He has morale, as  has the whole team. All lights are green."