London (AFP) – Australia's Cameron Meyer won the second stage of the Tour of Britain on Monday as the Michelton-Scott rider edged a sprint finish ahead of overall leader Alessandro Tonelli.

Meyer, the Commonwealth Games time trial champion, held off Italy's Tonelli on the finish line after a day-long breakaway.

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The 30-year-old, who last claimed a road race stage victory in February 2015, had been a part of the main group that went clear in the opening 15 kilometres of the 173.8-kilometre Cranbrook to Barnstaple ride in Devon.

Bardiani-CSF rider Tonelli took a six-second time bonus on the line which meant he claimed the leader's green jersey.

"I've been here at the Tour of Britain six or seven years ago when I was caught in the last kilometre so I was hoping there was no deja vu," Meyer told ITV 4.

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"I just picked my moment to go across to four guys and we had a breakaway of five. In the end it was a great bike race for me and a thrilling finish.

"It was a bit of a shock to take the win. We'll see what I can do for the rest of the tour."

New Zealand's Patrick Bevin sits third in the overall classification, just eight seconds behind, with Team Sky's Dutchman Wout Poels leading the chasing group.

Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas finished more than three minutes behind on Meyer, with Chris Froome trailing nearly 12 minutes back.