Nacer Bouhanni outsprints rivals again at the Volta a Catalunya

Nacer Bouhanni proved the sprint king at the Volta a Catalunya once again as he made it two wins from as many stages on Tuesday.

Everything went smoothly for the 25-year-old Frenchman, who was given the perfect lead-out and then powered away to extend his lead in the general classification.

Ben Swift had chased home Bouhanni (Cofidis) on Monday but the Team Sky man was unable to get involved in the final sprint on stage two and Gianni Meersman (Etixx - Quick-Step) took second place, just ahead of his fellow Belgian Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing).

Dual Tour de France winner Chris Froome, who came home safely in 15th, was the top Team Sky finisher.

Thomas de Gendt was the last of a small group of four escapees to be caught by the peloton, nearly 12 kilometers from the finish.

Meersman and Gilbert, like several of their compatriots, wore black armbands following the deadly explosions at Brussels' Zaventem Airport and a metro station in the city.

Bouhanni revealed afterwards that he had been feeling off-colour going into the stage.

"I went to see the doctor early in the race, I had a bad stomach," said the up-and-coming sprinter. "I'll have to clench my teeth in the mountains, I hope it's OK tomorrow.

"There are a couple more stages which may come down to a sprint."

Stage two was a relatively flat 178.8km route from Mataro to Olot but the sprinters should be left behind on Wednesday, as the third stage is a mountainous 172.1-km ride from Girona to La Molina in the Pyrenees.

Such terrain should give likely contenders for overall victory such as Froome, Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana a first chance to shine.

The week-long race through north-eastern Spain finishes in Barcelona on Sunday.

Stage two result

1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra/Cofidis) 4:39:10"
2. Gianni Meersman (Bel/Etixx - Quick-Step) Same Time
3. Philippe Gilbert (Bel/BMC Racing) ST
4. Alexey Tsatevich (Rus/Katusha) ST
5. Carlos Barbero (Esp/Caja Rural) ST
6. Kiel Reijnen (US/Trek) ST
7. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita/Wanty) ST
8. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel/IAM Cycling) ST
9. Pawel Franczak (Pol/Verva) ST
10. Kevin Reza (Fra/FDJ) ST

General classification

1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra/Cofidis) 9:07:41"
2. Ben Swift (Gbr/Team Sky) +14"
3. Thomas de Gendt (Bel/Lotto Soudal) Same Time    
4. Daryl Impey (SA/Orica) +16"  
5. Philippe Gilbert (Bel/BMC Racing) ST
6. Maxime Bouet (Fra/Etixx - Quick-Step) ST
7. Louis Vervaeke (Bel/Lotto Soudal) +17"
8. Javier Moreno (Esp/Movistar) +18"
9. Ruben Fernandez (Esp/Movistar) +19"
10. Alexey Tsatevich (Rus/Katusha) +20"