A gap in the peloton in the final sprint in yesterday's second stage of the Driedaagse van de Panne meant that one of the race favourites, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge), lost another 8 seconds to defending champion Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). With Durbridge now 17 seconds behind the French time trial champion, his team admits that overall victory is now beyond their reach.

After a 7th place in last year's race - in his European debut as a professional - Luke Durbridge entered this year's Driedaagse van de Panne-Koksijde with the firm belief that he could step onto the top step of the podium later this afternoon in De Panne.

He has limited experience in the very unique , Flemish type of facing but assisted by a strong team, he did a formidable job in Tuesday's hard opening stage in the Flemish Ardennes. He was very active all day and joined a number of moves from key rival Sylvain Chavanel, but he faded somewhat towards the end. When Peter Sagan (Cannondale) forced the final 10-man selection, he was left behind in the peloton.

As a consequence, he started yesterday's second stage 9 seconds behind the race favourite. Small gaps opened up in the bunch on the final lap on the technical finishing circuit, and he lost another 8 seconds to his main rival.

With just a likeliy bunch sprint in the morning's stage and 14,75km of time trialling in the afternoon, Orica-GreenEdge admits that the time loss is insurmountable.

" Luke got gapped in the sprint today, and he is now 17” down on Chavanel, who is the race favourite and defending champion," sports director Laurenzo Lapage said. "Luke can’t win the overall anymore, but he has a big chance to go for the time trial win."

Earlier in the stage, the team had forced Chavanel's Omega Pharma-Quick Step team on the defensive. As the Australian team, Cannondale and Astana attacked in the crosswinds, Chavanel was - surprisingly - the only representative of the Belgian team in the front peloton. Durbridge made sure to stay ahead and surrounded by plenty, he was in a favourable position.

In the end, the move was brought back, but Lapage was encouraged by the strong work from his classics specialists just days before the Tour of Flanders.

" The team spirit was great today," he said. "The way I see Stuey (Stuart O’Grady, ed.), Jens (Mouris, ed.) and Cookie (Baden Cooke, ed.) riding gives me good feelings thinking about the Tour of Flanders on Sunday. Durbo (Dubridge, ed.) and Heppy (Michael Hepburn, ed.) are showing that they will come back to Belgium in the future with even bigger ambitions. Tomas (Vaitkus, ed.) is just coming back from his knee injury and the way he rides confirms that he is recovering well."

The team had hoped to set up Leigh Howard for the final sprint, and Stuart O'Grady and Michael Hepburn both did plenty of work to bring back the day's escape. In the end, Howard and his lead-out man Aidis Kruopis failed to position themselves on the technical run-in to the finish line and ended up in 32nd and 33rd place.

" Our sprinters were not on their best day today, but the team did a great job to keep Durbo in position," Lapage explained.

The team faces two stages today with the morning's stage another opportunity for Howard and the afternoon's all-decisive time trial perfect for Durbridge to go on the hunt for an overall podium place.

" It means a very early morning and a long day for both the boys and staff," Lapage said. "People think the short stage is easier in the morning, but it’s harder because everyone is sharper and more guys think they have a chance. It will be a fast race."

You can follow both stages on CyclingQuotes.com/live from 10.15 and 14.45 respectively.