Roberto Ferrari got close to a win in today's second stage of the Tour of Beijing when the Lampre-Merida sprinter took 2nd behind Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ). The Italian has now set his sights on the final stage in the centre of Beijing.

Roberto Ferrari joined Lampre-Merida prior to the season but so far he has been unable to take the elusive win in his new jersey. Today he got close when he finished 2nd on the second stage of th Tour of Beijing.

Ferrari had been well-placed in the sprint on stage 1 but drifted backwards as soon as the sprint was launched. Today he did everything right as he got onto the wheel of Bouhanni and used the FDJ train to move to the front. Hence, he was brought into the perfect spot and could start his sprint from the second position which he held all the way to the finish.

"I was on the right wheel of Bouhanni, " he said. "I saw that FDJ was working well to move up in the peloton and I was able to get onto the wheel of their designated sprinter. We were in the right-hand side of the rode and took advantage of a sweeping right-hand bend that allowed us to move to the front positions. At that point, Bouhanni started his sprint. I tried to react but he didn't slow down and so I could not get past him."

Ferrari will now have to survive a couple of hillier days but expects to be back in action on the final stage which is held on a flat circuit in the centre of Beijing.

"Today was a good opportunity for me," he said. "Now I will probably have to wait to the final stage to take revenge."

While Ferrari will now take a back seat, the team hopes to see young Jan Polanc perform well in the next two stages.