Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) won a bunch sprint in Bascharage to take the first stage proper of the Tour of Luxembourg.

The Russian speedster got the better of a Team Sky convoy with Greg Henderson, Davide Appollonio and Mathew Hayman all coming next in the 193km stage.

Leopard Trek's Fabian Cancellara held on to the race's overall lead after his win in Wednesday's prologue, as no bonus seconds were awarded during the stage.

The stage two sprint materialised after a four man breakaway of Christian Poos (Differdange - Magic-sportfood.de), Jens Mouris (Vacansoleil-DCM), Arnaud Labbe (Cofidis) and Bert Scheirlinckx (Landbouwkrediet) were finally reeled in during final five kilometres despite having had a lead of over four minutes at one stage.

Stage two of four takes the riders 200.7km from Schifflange to Differdange on Friday.

Eurosport