Alejandro Valverde wins the bunch sprint to take the stage and overall lead as Dan Martin missed out on the battle for vital seconds.
Alejandro Valverde wins Catalunya stage in bunch sprint
Taking his sixth win of the season already Alejandro Valverde claimed the bunch sprint victory on stage 2 of Volta a Catalunya today.
With a cat 3 to be crested just 10km from the finish, the really fast men were jettisoned. And the sprint for victory featured some usual names.
Movistar’s Valverde was one, with fellow climber Egan Bernal (Team Sky) in 4th place. Both were determined to miss any time splits and to gain time bonuses.
Valverde and team mate Nairo Quintana also took second and third in the final intermediate sprint.
The bonuses on offer there, and at the finish, meant they nudge ahead of their general classification rivals.
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They, of course, included Ireland’s Dan Martin. The UAE Team Emirates leader stayed out of the fight for those bonuses despite his ability to pack a very decent sprint at times.
Instead he came home in the main pack; in 48th place after 175.6km from Mataró to Valls.
Also in that bunch was Nicolas Roche, the BMC man in 73rd place. Philip Deignan (Team Sky) finished in a group 3:17 down.
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And Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) - runner-up yesterday - came home a little further back, some 6:16 off the reduced peloton.
The stage came down to a sprint after a three-man breakaway spent most of the day out front. However, it was recaptured just before the last hour of racing began.
It was then the turn of Cyril Barthe (Euskadi) to try his hand solo; hitting out with 40km remaining.
However, he too would be caught. And when the pace went up over the Coll de Lilla the sprinters were spat out of the bunch.
Bennett’s Bora-hansgrohe put in a good show on the front in the last kilometre. However, with limited numbers its lead-out for Jay McCarthy was not what it might have been.
The Australian was forced to settle for 3rd behind Valverde and Daryl Impey (Mitchelton Scott).
Climbing battle set to begin
Tomorrow’s stage features a testing finish; the road continuing to rise virtually at the way to the chequered flag after a cat 2 is crested with 13.5km remaining.
It should be interesting to see how Movistar defends its lead and how the likes of Dan Martin and Bernal, aided by Deignan, approach the final.
Roche will also hope to make an impact alongside Teja Van Garderen.
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