Wout Poels produced another plucky display on the second day of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, working his way into the front group as crosswinds shattered the peloton in the closing stages.

Poels was the only Team Sky rider in a 28-man move who came together after the final climb of the day, but found himself on the wrong ride of a six-second split when Matteo Trentin (Etixx - Quick Step) had outsprinted  Yauheni Hutarovich (Bretagne - Séché Environnement) and 14 other rivals in La Creche.

The result saw Poels slip to 10th in the overall standings, where he now sits 19 seconds behind Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne - Séché Environnement), who defended his five-second lead over Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto Nl-Jumbo).

The stage had looked like one for the sprinters, and got off to a standard start with five riders allowed to slip clear in the breakaway. Bretagne - Séché Environnement joined forces with AG2R and Auber 93 to bring them back under control before the fireworks started on the third of five categorised climbs.

Three riders initially began to bridge over to the leaders, and they were joined by Poels and 20 others when the strong gusts caused the peloton's elastic to snap.

Ben Swift and Luke Rowe both tried valiantly to join the Dutchman on the final circuit, but he remained alone on the fast run in to the finish, and was unable to contest the sprint which saw Trentin emerge for his first win of the season.