Davide Appollonio came close to grabbing a stage win on day two at the Tour de Wallonie as he was edged into second.

Danilo Napolitano (Acqua & Sapone) held off the Team Sky man in the bunch kick at the conclusion of the 205.5 kilometres from Binche to Mettet. Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) taking third.

On a day featuring five categorised climbs, Team Sky rider Luke Rowe and Katusha's Mikhail Ignatiev attacked early and opened a gap of six minutes at one point.

Rowe amassed enough points to pick up both the mountains and the sprints jerseys before the duo were caught with 27km remaining, Ignatiev's team-mate Vladimir Isaychev the next to make a solo bid for glory.

Isaychev was hauled back by the peloton and Napolitano was able to hold off his sprint rivals in the finale.

Thanks to the time bonuses on offer, Napolitano holds a two-second lead in the general classification from stage one winner Nacer Bouhanni (Francaise des Jeux), with Rowe in third.

Momentum

After the stage Sports Director Steven de Jongh was pleased to see a positive reaction from the team after Saturday's disappointment.

He said: “Luke did really well to take the sprints jersey and the mountains jersey. He also took some bonus seconds to move him up to third now on the GC. It was tough for him in the break with Ignatiev who is such a small guy.

“Then in the sprint Appo got up there to take second. It was a big improvement on yesterday but unfortunately Napolitano just had the edge.

“Then after the race we all watched the Tour finish. We saw the great performance of the team and there was lots of yelling and applause on the bus. It was really special to see and it gives everyone lots of motivation.

“Tomorrow is by far and away the toughest stage of the race. Michael Barry is climbing well at the moment so we will see what happens out on the road.”

The race continues on Monday with stage three, covering 185.9km from Marche en Famenne to Beaufays including many of the climbs used in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege Classic.