Michal Kwiatkowski may have surrendered the yellow jersey to Michael Albasini but he is still very much the rider in command. Just five seconds behind the Swiss rider, Kwiatkowski, and team-mate Tony Martin who sits seventh overall, led the way into the final 500 metres on stage two as they looked to set up a sprint victory for the Pole. It did not arrive, but fifth place for the 23-year-old is another mark of his stunning all-round form.

And though he will not wear the yellow jersey on stage three, Kwiatkowski will tackle the four category one peaks with the white jersey of best young rider on his back. As a test of his legs after the Ardennes Classics, the stage seems the perfect scenario. The pressure remains off for Kwiatkowski – and with Albasini in the yellow jersey his team-mates will enjoy a reprieve from the long shifts they would otherwise have had to pull on the front of the bunch. Kwiatkowski, Rigoberto Uran and Martin all remain well placed overall, and with stages suiting all three of them still to come, this is still very much Omega Pharma-Quickstep’s race.