TEAM Sky's Danny van Poppel won stage two of the Tour de Yorkshire in a bunch sprint in Doncaster today as more than a million spectators turned out along tghe route.

The 22-year-old Dutchman scored his first win in Sky colours as he edged out stage one winner Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) on the line when the 136.5km stage from Otley came down to the final few metres.

The Northern Echo:

Team Sky's Danny Van Poppel on the podium. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire

Only a handful of people got to see it on a day when television coverage of the event was lost for almost the entire day - including virtually the entirety of the women's race earlier in the day - due to a relay plane being grounded with technical difficulties.

The peloton was unaware of that as they raced into Doncaster. Four remaining riders from the early break - Josh Edmondson (NFTO), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Stijn Steels (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and Michael Morkov (Katusha) - were swallowed up with 10km left, and the lead-out trains began to battle for position.

It was still wide open as they tore down the final straight, with Van Poppel taking it by inches from Groenewegen and Giant-Alpecin's Nikias Ardnt.

Christopher Opie of One Pro Cycling was the first Briton home in fourth place just behind.

With bonus seconds factored in, Groenewegen continues to lead the race overall, with Van Poppel second, six seconds back, and Arndt eight seconds back.

However, the general classification is expected to look very different following the tough third and final stage from Middlesbrough to Whitby tomorrow (Sunday).

Meanwhile, in the women's Tour de Yorkshire, Lizzie Armitstead began the day with goose pimples and ended it happy even though she was denied victory.

The Northern Echo:

Team Great Britain's (left-right) Emma Pooley, Eleanor Dickinson, Evie Richards, Lizzie Armitstead and Alice Barnes after winning Best Team during stage two of the Tour de Yorkshire. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire

World champion Armitstead showed off her rainbow jersey as the race started in her home town of Otley before launching a late bid for glory, only to fall short as Dutch rider Kirsten Wild took the honours from a bunch sprint in Doncaster.

Wild beat Wiggle High5's Lucy Garner to the line after the peloton had caught Armitstead and her two fellow escapees inside the final three kilometres of the 136.5km race.

"The start was brilliant," said Armitstead. "I had a couple of bike problems to begin with which was difficult but it was a goose pimple moment for me at the beginning to be supported by my community.

"It's not something I ever thought would happen to me - to start a race in my home town and as world champion - both are a surprise and a bonus."

Armitstead, who is focused on the road race at the Olympics in Rio, had insisted beforehand she was not a contender for victory here and was happy to have put on the show that she did.

"It was worth just giving it a go," she said. "I wouldn't have betted on me in a sprint so I thought I'd at least make it interesting."

Armitstead made her move on the descent after Conisbrough Castle, around 100km into the stage, and was followed by Leah Kirchmann (Liv Plantur), with the pair soon catching early escapee Doris Schweizer of Cylance Pro Cycling.

"I kind of did it by accident," the 27-year-old said of the attack. "I knew I needed to keep it going down the descent because there was a little kicker there, so I thought 'I need to stick it in here, see what happens,' and when I looked behind there were two of us."

Along with Schweizer she built a lead of around one minute as the race briefly headed into Nottinghamshire - paying homage to Britain's first road cycling world champion Tommy Simpson as it passed through his adopted home town of Harworth - but as they turned back north towards Doncaster, the peloton closed in.

After it all came back together in the final stages, Wild jumped out from the pack to claim glory and a bumper cheque of around £15,000 from a prize fund totalling £50,000 - a record for a women's cycling event.

The Northern Echo:

Team Hitec Products Kirsten Wild on the podium after winning stage two of the Tour de Yorkshire. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire

"Thank you to the team for bringing back the break just in time," said Wild, who will share the prize money with her team-mates. "When it came down to the sprint it was good for me, and I am happy to have won.

"It was a great opportunity for women's cycling and it has been really good to race here, in front of enthusiastic crowds."

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Today has been an historic day for women’s cycling and it’s been a spectacular day of racing.

"The crowds were once again phenomenal and to see how the people of Yorkshire have taken this event to their hearts is just overwhelming.

"There was so much spirit and positivity in Yorkshire today it was magnificent to see.

"Clearly the one thing we would have changed if we could was the fact we had intermittent live TV coverage but I must stress that safety is paramount.

"Unfortunately there was a serious technical fault with the plane relaying the TV signal, the plane had to be grounded and the TV coverage could not continue for this reason.

“Fans and communities have continued their spectacular support for the Tour de Yorkshire not just from the routes but also digitally by sharing images, footage and updates to keep the public informed. Please keep tweeting and following @letouryorkshire and we will be putting highlights online tonight.

“We are now focussed on the day ahead tomorrow from Middlesbrough to Scarborough which promises to be an exhilarating race!”