Wout Poels and Leopold König both lost ground as the second stage of the Tour of Oman reached a fiery conclusion.

Two short, sharp climbs in the last 25km had always looked likely to cause splits in the peloton, and so it proved with only 18 riders emerging to contest the stage victory.

Neither Poels nor König were among those ranks, with Christian Knees leading Poels home in a second select group 46 seconds later, and Philip Deignan supporting König to the line a further 26 seconds adrift.

It was Fabian Cancellara who emerged triumphant, with the Trek Factory Racing rider pipping Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) in a massively-reduced sprint finish.

That result saw Cancellara take control of the leader’s jersey, and bonus seconds ensured he opened up a four-second advantage over Valverde at the top of the overall standings.

After the stage, Sports Director Nicolas Portal admitted things had not run to plan but insists there is still plenty to fight for in the days to come.

He told TeamSky.com: “We’re a little bit disappointed with how things turned out today. It’s a shame for Leo and Wout, especially as the likes of Valverde, Arredondo and Majka were in that first group.

“Honestly, we didn’t hear much about what was going on in the team car and I’m only beginning to assess the race situation now.

“Certainly, there are more opportunities for Wout and Leo to climb back up the GC and gain a good position, and obviously there’s stage wins up for grabs, so we’ll keep fighting and see what happens.”