Tinkoff-Saxo struggled in today's very rainy second stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk as the team only managed to put one rider, Michael Valgren, in the small front group that sprinted for the win. However, the young Dane did well by taking 10th and the team is now hopeful that its neo-pro can finish in the top 10 overall.

Today’s 166 kilometer long second stage of 4 days at Dunkerque from Hazebrouck to Orchies offered another stretch of brutal cross and headwind sections mixed with occasional cobbles and daylong rain, which combined constantly stirred up the peloton and broke it to pieces.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo Italian Manuele Boaro has a thing for these kinds of circumstances and he launched an attack and participated in today’s big breakaway, chasing a front trio along with race leader Arnuad Demare (FDJ). Entering the final 30 kilometers of the stage, a bigger group bridged the gap from behind while two riders tried to squeeze the last bit of energy by prolonging the break with a few kilometers. But FDJ had the situation under control until the group thundered in on the final cobblestone section.
 
Here, Sylvain Chavanel (IAM) leaped up the road in a dedicated move and bridged the gap to the front duo but soon after, FDJ closed it down again and the lead group was back together. Behind, another chase group was fighting intensely to catch up and going under the red kite, it all back together. In a furious bunch sprint, Arnaud Demare (FDJ) opened early with 300 meters to go and won superbly by several bike lengths.  

Tinkoff-Saxo Dane, Michael Valgren finished 10th and is also 10th overall:

"It was really Flandrian today with cobbles, rain and immense cross winds," sports director Tristan Hoffman said. "There were piles of crashes on the road throughout the entire day and if you're not in the front of the race, it's simply hell. But if you have good legs and manage to stay in front of the pack, you can really make a huge difference and I'm happy to see that Michael (Valgren) was showing excellent condition today and is now among the ten best in the pack. That means we have a good chance of doing a good GC if he can keep it up."