Sylvain Chavanel, Guillaume Keirsbulck, Niki Terpstra and others were a constant presence at the front of the peloton at the 216.1km KBC-Driedaagse De Panne -Koksijde Stage 2 on Wednesday. The race, fromZottegem - Koksijde (Oostduinkerke), featured a breakaway of three riders that dwindled down to a lone escape and multiple field splits. Chavanel set the tempo for a couple of them.
However, the peloton caught Andy Cappelle (ACC) — grimacing in pain and pedaling a low cadence off the front — with 11km to go, and the peloton began to set up for the field sprint. Francesco Chicchi sat third wheel as the team set up his leadout train. With 5km to go, Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team let other teams work in the wind as they drifted back in the peloton. Unfortunately, with a spread out and somewhat unorganized peleton in the final meters, Chicchi could not get good position to contest the sprint. He placed 13th.
Chavanel, who finished 55th on Wednesday, is the team's top general classification contender in 21st place. He is a mere six seconds back. His French national champion jersey has been constantly visible making key moves.