NACER Bouhanni admitted he was taken by surprise by the sheer numbers of spectators at the Tour de Yorkshire – likening them to the Tour de France after winning stage two in Harrogate.

The Frenchman is competing in the Tour de Yorkshire for the first time, and after missing out in yesterday’s sprint, he was untouchable on stage two.

Reacting to compatriot Jonathan Hivert’s attack on the final straight, Cofidis rider Bouhanni found himself clear and romped home to claim his fourth win of the year.

And Bouhanni was thrilled to come away with the win, particularly in front of such a large crowd.

He said: “There are a huge crowds here, I wasn’t expecting that many people.

"It feels a bit like the Tour de France, it’s the first time I’ve competed at the Tour de Yorkshire and there are lots of spectators so it makes you want to ride.

“It was quite a hilly stage, so at the end I was always in good position, in the top 15, and I made the effort at about 350/400 metres when I saw that Jonathan Hivert had gone. I responded to come back on him and get the win.”

With Bouhanni comfortably ahead in first, Australian Caleb Ewan had to settle for runners-up spot for the second stage running.

However the Orica Scott rider claimed the overall leader’s jersey as a result, along with the points jersey.

And while he is well-aware of the difficulty of the final stage between Bradford and Fox Valley near Sheffield, which will decide the general classification, Ewan relished the chance to take the leader’s jersey.

He said: “I’m a bit disappointed that I’ve got two second places but to lead a big race like this is an honour.

"Shorter stages tend to be a bit tougher because it’s hard all day, especially with the roads here, they are narrow and they have steep little climbs so it never makes for an easy stage.

"Although it was predicted to be a sprint it wasn’t that straightforward.

“I think the Tour de Yorkshire is a great race, I love seeing all these people out here, the fans are amazing and the racing is good as well.

"I raced here last year, am back again this year and hopefully I can come back in the future.

“We don’t have the strongest team for a stage like stage three. We’ll probably try to go in some breakaways. It will be too hard for me to keep the jersey so I’m not sure how we’ll play it.”

* Yorkshire Bank is an Official Partner of the Tour de Yorkshire and the ground-breaking Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries initiative. Visit www.ybonline.co.uk/tdy