Mark Cavendish recorded his 79th career win and his eighth in the Giro D'Italia when he won the second stage this afternoon.
Stage two saw the riders still in the Danish city of Herning and on the same roads where Mark Cavendish had won the World Championship road race back in October, three riders in Rubiano Chavez, Balloni and Kaisen got away on this 206km stage.
Their gap was close to ten minutes but was down to six and a half with a hundred kilometres to go.
Allesandro Balloni took the first mountain climb of the race, some five and a half minutes ahead of the peloton which contained Maglia Rosa jersey Taylor Phinney.
Team Sky had Ian Stannard on the front of that peloton and they were closing things down before the special sprint at the home town of Bang & Olufsen which was won by Oliver Kaisen who won a sound system with Chavez and Balloni getting an alarm clock.
Mark Cavendish, resplendant in his World Champions jersey was close to the front of a nervous peloton. There was a six man crash with 43.5kms to go after a touch of wheels on a country road.
Just before the 40kms to go banner, the three escapers were caught. Denmark's Lars Ytting Bak of the Lotto Belisol team broke and managed to get forty seconds clear before he was reined in by a peloton looking for a bunch sprint.
With one 12.5km lap of Herning to go, Team Sky with Cavendish well protected were at the front along with Astana.
Four kilometres later, Taylor Phinney lost the chain on his bike and had to stop for a replacemen. He was paced back into the peloton by his BMC team.
Team Sky kept Cavendish at the front and under the flam rouge, Sky were ahead of Orica Green Edge.
Into the last corner and there was a big crash with Theo Bos and Mark Renshaw involved.
Mark Cavendish was on the right and timed it brilliantly from a Thomas lead out to get past Matt Goss and Geoffrey Soupe to win in a time of 4:53:12.
Geraint Thomas finished tenth and is still second in the General Classification.
Cavendish's win brought him 20 Maglia Rossa points, the Azzurri D'italia Jersey and the Most Combative jersey,
He tweeted: "After bossing the race the whole day in nasty wind, I'm glad i didn't let TeamSky boys down! Wickedly composed leadout by Geraint Thomas."
Tomorrow's stage starts and finishes in Horsvens which today lost its Mayor who had done so much to get the race there to a heart attack.