The second stage in the Tour of Britain was a short but tough one. Along the way, the riders had to tackle three ascents.

With about 45 kilometres to go the peloton split in several groups. After that there was an attack of eight riders, among them Pim Ligthart. At a bit more than fifteen kilometres from the finish Vakoc attacked and remained ahead, he’s also the new leader. Jens Debusschere finished at a nice seventh place.

Impressively, André Greipel made the selection but he worked hard on the front to set up Debusschere for the sprint

“It certainly was a heavy stage. The two leaders were caught early and then you know that there will be many attacks. After that, several groups were dropped on each hill, so the peloton split. Luckily we were with six riders of Lotto Soudal in the first group," Debusschere said.

“Pim was in a break and that was a good situation for us. When Vakoc attacked we pulled at the front of the peloton together with Tinkoff Saxo. Everyone really gave their all but Vakoc was just the strongest. Eventually I finished seventh.

"The next days will be tough here in Great Britain, it’s always a sloped course. But we’re definitely going to try something if there’s a possibility and if the legs are good."