Dylan Groenewegen claimed victory on the second stage of Paris-Nice ©Getty Images

Dylan Groenewegen clinched victory on the second stage of Paris-Nice today following a sprint finish in Vierzon.

The Dutchman was among several sprinters vying for the stage win at the end of a 187 kilometre ride from Orsonville.

A six-man breakaway was able to form at the midpoint of racing, but never appeared likely to truly threaten the anticipated bunch sprint to the line.

The move was ultimately reduced to just Italy's Manuele Boaro and Portugal's Tiago Machado as the stage entered its closing stages.

Sprinting teams kept the pair under control and eventually caught them with less than five kilometres to go, as the pace rose.

Groenewegen proved too quick for his sprint rivals in the dash to the line, with the Dutchman winning in a time of 4 hours, 51min and 31 sec.

The LottoNL-Jumbo rider was followed by in-form Italian Elia Viviani and Germany's Andre Greipel.

The peloton kept a breakaway under control to set-up a sprint finish ©Getty Images
The peloton kept a breakaway under control to set-up a sprint finish ©Getty Images

France's Arnaud Demare remains the overall race leader following his stage one success and a fifth place today.

He lies seven seconds clear of Spain's Gorka Izagirre, while fellow Frenchmen Christophe Laporte and Julian Alaphilippe are a further one and three seconds back.

The International Cycling Union WorldTour race is set to continue tomorrow with a 210km stage from Bourges to Châtel-Guyon.