Mark Renshaw won stage two of the Tour of Britain on Monday with a thrilling sprint finish along Llandudno seafront.
Renshaw, so often the creator of wins for others, grabbed a much deserved slice of the glory when he raced clear of Ben Swift and Sam Bennett in the closing stages.
The win, Renshaw's first in Omega Pharma Quick-Step colours, is his second in the Tour of Britain. His first came in Exmouth, in 2011, where the race will visit on Thursday when stage five sees competitors start in the Devon seaside town and race towards Exeter.
With Mark Cavendish having to take a back seat, after picking up a thigh injury in a stage one crash, Renshaw, along with Niki Terpstra and Michael Kwiatkowski were given a free rein in the race.
Speaking about his victory in stage two, a 200.8km leg from Knowsley to Llandudno, Renshaw said:
"It was pretty exciting especially that last five kilometres, I would imagine it would make pretty good TV,"
"Nobody in our team knew the finish so we were going by word of mouth and the road book but it certainly suited me. I've got good legs after the Tour de France and was going very well.
"It was a shame that Cav crashed, it would have been the perfect sprint for him in my wheel but he is still trying to recover a bit. It's pretty amazing he is still in the race really.
"It's great to reward the team with a victory, it's the first time I've been able to do that. It's a fantastic feeling. Over the years I have learned to get that feeling from helping other riders. I've dedicated a big proportion of my career to helping other guys. Not only Cav but Boasson Hagen, Henderson, Griepel, Hushovd - great riders - but it's always nice to win a race personally.
Stage three sees Tour of Britain remain in Wales, with Monmouthshire's Tumble mountain above Abergavenny set to play host to the first summit finish in the Principality.
Marcel Kittel drew first blood in the Tour of Britain as he sprinted clear of his rivals to win stage one in Liverpool on Sunday.
