Nacer Bouhanni earned back-to-back wins to strengthen his race lead ©Getty Images

Cofidis’ Nacer Bouhanni made it back-to-back victories at the Volta a Catalunya after the Frenchman easily won the stage two sprint at the close of the 178 kilometre route from Mataro to Olot.

The second day of the International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour race began with a one minute silence in tribute to the victims of the Brussels terrorist attacks and there was very little racing in the opening kilometres of the stage.

Eventually a four-man breakaway of France’s Maxime Bouet, Poland’s Kamil Gradek and the Belgian duo of Thomas De Gendt and Boris Dron formed and looked to build an advantage over the peloton.

The strong wind on the course, though, did not work in favour of the small group who proved unable to build more than a three minute lead over the chasing pack throughout the duration of the race.

It was also in part due to the strong work of the Cofidis team, who were working to preserve Bouhanni’s race lead and set the Frenchman up for the final sprint.

They had been dealt an early scare when the Frenchman was forced to drop back to the medical car due to stomach pains, but he remained in the main field when they crested the second climb of the day at Alt dels Angels with 70 kilometres to go.

The break was caught inside the final 14 kilometres of the stage, with the sprinters' teams coming to the fore.

Ultimately Bouhanni had too much for his rivals in the dying metres to claim the stage win in a time of four hours, 39min and 10sec.

Nacer Bouhanni overcome stomach pains on route to the stage win
Nacer Bouhanni overcome stomach pains on route to the stage win ©Getty Images

"It is very important for me and for the team's fourth victory of the year, it's a good way to start the season,”

"I wasn't in the ideal position, but I made an effort at 1.5 kilometres to position myself and I have launched very well.

“I hope to achieve a third victory after the mountain stages.”

Belgium’s Gianni Meersman and Philippe Gilbert, representing Etixx–Quick-Step and BMC Racing respectively, completed the top three on the stage, with the pair among numerous riders awarded the same time as the winner.

Due to winning the stage Bouhanni was able claim the 10 second time bonus, which now gives him a 14 second advantage over Britain's Ben Swift in the overall classification.

Tomorrow will see the peloton tackle a 172km mountain stage from Girona to La Molina.