Omega Pharma-Quick Step took complete control of the front of the peloton in the final kilometres of the 204.2 km Stage 2 of Driedaagse Van De Panne-Koksijde, putting all riders on the front working very hard for sprinter Mark Cavendish.

However, with just 1km to go, Iljo Keisse and Niki Terpstra - in a headwind - were left with the duty of leading out Cavendish. Despite the challenging situation, they pulled so hard for the Manx Missile they had a gap with only one rider able to stay on the wheel of Cavendish.

As the race came back together for the final, and sprinters such as Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol), Elia Viviani (Cannondale), and Arnaud Demare (FDJ) loomed, Cavendish launched up the right side from several hundred meters out. Terpstra put in a fabulous effort as the last leadout man.

Cavendish went on to win the bunch sprint from long distance, with Viviani 2nd and Chicchi 3rd.

"I didn't feel that great actually earlier on in the day," Cavendish said on the team website. "We talked this morning about doing what we can to dig in for a bunch sprint. Halfway through I was like, 'I don't know if I can do it today.' I didn't feel great, but as the finish grew near we just kind of got to the front. It wasn't even spoken about. We were just doing it, like we were going for the sprint. Everyone stayed in the front and as you could see, the last lap was incredibly fast all together. The guys were in great form to not just do fast pulls, but really long pulls as well at the end. That just put me in position for the final corner. I wanted to be two or three back out of the last corner and that is exactly where I was. So, I was really, really happy. With one kilometre to go I just sat there waiting, waiting, waiting. I wanted to go at 450 meters really. I felt the sprint going early on my left, so I had to kick out earlier than normal. In a headwind if you kick out too hard you die out and riders come from behind. So I didn't go full gas. I just kept accelerating and accelerating as guys were coming through."

You can follow the final two stages of the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live tomorrow from 10.15 and 14.45