Sam Watson proved the strongest member of the break as he took stage two of the Isle of Man Junior Tour ahead of Niels Nicolaas van Ekeren in Jurby.

The PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles rider was part of a break of about a dozen riders which got away around halfway through the 106km stage which was raced in glorious sunshine.

That had followed a number of early attempted breaks that had come to nothing with the peloton bringing them back on each occasion.

Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team duo Van Ekeren and Lars Loohuis were the instigators of the breakaway, and animated much of the stage as they took a firm grip on the sprint competition.

However with two laps remaining the leading group had thinned down to five riders, Watson and Van Ekeren, his teammate Loohuis, Theo Modell of Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT and Tosh Teare of Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team.

Watson and Van Ekeren get away

The former two were able to open up a gap on the final lap, and in the end it was Watson who proved the stronger, taking the sprint finish by a bike length.

Loohuis and Modell came in ten seconds down, the former crossing the line first, before Teare finished on his own in fifth.

They were more than a minute clear of the rest of the field, which included previous yellow jersey holder William Tidball.

He passed on the leader’s jersey to teammate Watson, who now holds a five-second lead over Van Ekeren, with Loohuis 18 seconds back in third ahead of the final stage.

In the team competition, Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team have opened up a sizeable lead over PH-MAS, with a 1min 16sec advantage.

Stage 2

1 Samuel Watson PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles 2:27:42
2 Niels Nicolaas van Ekeren Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team same time
3 Lars Loohuis Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team @ 10 seconds
4 Theo Modell Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT
5 Tosh Teare Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team B @ 16
6 Matthew Shaw Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT @ 1:21
7 Finley Newmark VC Londres
8 Thomas Bostock Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team A @ 1:33
9 Harry Gillett ZeroBC Development Team
10 Jim Brown PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles

Stage 2 General Classification

1 Samuel Watson PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles 2:29:13
2 Niels Nicolaas van Ekeren Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team @ 5 seconds
3 Lars Loohuis Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team @ 18
4 Theo Modell Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT @ 21
5 Tosh Teare Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team B @ 25
6 Matthew Shaw Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT @ 1:29
7 Finley Newmark VC Londres @ 1:31
8 Lewis Askey Team Backstedt/Hotchillee @ 1:42
9 William Tidball PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles same time
10 Jim Brown PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles @ 1:43

Stage 2 Points

1 Niels Nicolaas van Ekeren Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team 15
2 Lars Loohuis Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team 10
3 Samuel Watson PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles 4
4 Tom Dussek Giant Halifax Race Team 4
5 Lewis Askey Team Backstedt/Hotchillee 3
6 Max Walker Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team A 3
7 Joshua Greenwood Giant Halifax Race Team 3
8 William Orrell-Turner Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT 2
9 Stijn Ruijter Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team 2
10 Samuel Pugh Salt Ayre Cog Set 2

Team Classification after Stage 2

1 Sleepwell Hotels Monkey Town Cycling Team. 7:29:48
2 PH-MAS/Paul Milnes Cycles @1:16
3 Wheelbase Cabtech Junior RT @1:25