Belkin went into today's stage of the Tour of Britain hoping that Barry Markus would be able to contest the sprint. However, the final climb was too tough for the Dutch sprinter.

Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM didn't have luck on their side Monday in the second stage at the Tour of Britain. A hilly finale and some crashes caused the peloton to split up in the final run towards the line in the 200.8km second stage to Llandudno. Mark Renshaw (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) won a bunch sprint, and he also claimed the overall lead. 

"We had a very, very fast start, and one group got away, and we had Bram [Tankink] in there with about 25 riders, but the peloton chased it down. A group of six got away, but it was reeled in near the finish ," said Belkin Sports Director Jan Boven. "The peloton split up in the closing kilometres . We had three of our guys in the front group (Tankink, Lars-Petter Nordhaug and Maarten Wynants], but it was a bit too hard for Barry [Markus] to make the sprint. It was near the sea, on narrow roads, with a climb." 
 

Tankink led Belkin with 24th on the stage, and promises to be active in the coming stages that are better suited for breakaways. 

"It was very hectic at the end of the stage. Once we hit the climb, there were a lot of corners, and narrow roads. It was difficult to move up," Tankink said. "It was full-gas in the end. Everyone was on the limit. We'll see in the coming days to try to get into another breakaway." 

Belkin's Jetse Bol was caught behind a crash, and suffered a puncture midway through the stage, both otherwise everyone made it to the finish line without mishap Tuesday. 
 

The 11th Britain tour continues Tuesday with the 179.9km third stage finishing atop the hardest climb of the week at The Tumble.

"We'll see what happens. Lars-Petter wasn't feeling great today with a bad stomach, but he's had good form coming into the race," Boven said. "Tomorrow is the hardest finale of the race, with a climb of about 5km. The last three, three-and-a-half kilometres is eight, nine percent. This will be the decisive stage for the GC riders."