Rohan Dennis of the BMC Racing Team kept the overall lead Wednesday at the Critérium du Dauphiné, enduring an afternoon rain storm on the longest stage of the race and a couple nervous moments in the final bunch sprint.

Dennis finished 30th and in the peloton as Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis Solutions Crédits) won his second stage ahead of Jonas Van Genechten (IAM Cycling). BMC Racing Team's Tejay van Garderen held onto second overall and remains tied on time with his teammate with four days of the race to go.

"Most of the day was standard, but the last 25 or 30 kilometers were a bit hectic and sometimes a bit scary," Dennis said. "Leading into the final climb, there was a lot of fighting going on to get to the bottom in the front. Then, the last two kilometers, there were a lot of people touching wheels in front of me. In the last 500 meters, there were a lot of near crashes. So it was a little bit of a stressful moment. But we all got through it unscathed.

"I was pretty calm. It was pretty controlled with two guys up the road, then Cofidis and ourselves rode all day. And it became really hectic in the last 25-30 kilometres. The last climb was pretty crucial. Other than that it was almost boring. To be honest the legs are fine. Today it was almost a too long stage.

"Tomorrow I think there'll be a lot of… let say fresh legs for a fight for GC. I'm not going to give it up without a fight but Tejay is our GC guy here. If he's comfortable, I'm going to bury myself for him. I hope he'll take if not the jersey the stage as well. I'll definitely help him.

"I did cross the line before him today but it was just a question of the two of us to stay in the front. We were close to each other with 200 metres to go. It did cross my mind to sort of pull back and maybe let him take the jersey but he went left and I went right. It just happened that I crossed the line first but it wasn't calculated."

Dennis enjoyed his first full day in the leader's jersey a day after the BMC Racing Team won the team time trial. BMC Racing Team Sport Director Yvon Ledanois said the 228-kilometer race played out perfectly, with a two-man breakaway of Martijn Keizer (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal) escaping early. The BMC Racing Team let the pair's advantage extend to eight minutes before bringing them back in the last 15 kilometers.

"We were fine with the situation today, it was perfect for us," Ledanois said. "Now it becomes a different race for the general classification. But we have trust with this team and we know Tejay and Rohan are ready for tomorrow."

Thursday's 161-kilometer race includes five categorized climbs, including a hilltop finish.