Alejandro Valverde victorious as Michal Kwiatkowski moves into red – La Vuelta

2018 Vuelta a Espana

Stage 2

Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde out-sprinted Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski to win Stage 2 of La Vuelta at Caminita del Rey as the latter moved into the red jersey following a collapse by overnight leader Rohan Dennis.

Movistar’s Valverde darted from the back wheel of Team Sky’s Kwiatkowski ahead of the final bend of the punchy uphill finish as the two riders zipped past Belgium’s Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) at a thrilling conclusion to the tough 163.5km stage from Marbella.

Valverde had the requisite kick to secure the tenth Vuelta scalp of his career as Kwiatkowski took over the race lead after finishing runner-up for a second successive day.

De Plus, who soloed clear with just over one kilometre remaining, held on for third place, three seconds down, ahead of Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) and New Zealander George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo).

On a sweltering day in southern Spain, some hefty pace-setting by the Movistar and Sky teams of the two main protagonists Valverde and Kwiatkowski split the pack and distanced some big-name riders.

Colombian duo Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Uran and Frenchman Thibaut Pinot all finished in the top 10 while Britain’s Simon Yates and the Italian Fabio Aru were part of a select chasing group eight seconds down.

But Australia’s Richie Porte, Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, the world champion Peter Sagan of Slovakia, and Saturday’s time trial victor Dennis all lost varying degrees of time as a gruppetto came home more than 13 minutes down.

Kwiatkowski, the Polish national champion, now leads Valverde by 14 seconds in the nascent general classification with Kelderman third place at 25 seconds.

Alexis Gougeard (Ag2R-La Mondiale), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Pierre Rolland (EF Education First-Drapac), Pablo Torres (Burgos-BH), Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) and Hector Saez (Euskadi-Murias) zipped clear from the outset on the first of four categorised climbs.

Spaniard Mate picked up maximum points over the first three climbs – enough to secure the blue polka dot jersey – as the move established a maximum lead of around four minutes over the BMC-led peloton.

But once the leaders passed through the finish area at Caminito del Rey before embarking on a long closing circuit, the Bora-Hansgrohe team of world champion Sagan helped with the chase to slash the advantage to two minutes with 50km remaining.

Alejandro Valverde celebrates victory on home soil.

By this point, breakaway specialist De Gendt has already called it a day – the Belgian dropping back after apparently suffering from cramps.

French duo Rolland and Gougeard rolled the dice with 32km remaining, riding clear of their fellow escapees as the peloton came within one minute following some hefty tempo-setting by Team Sky and Movistar.

Gougeard, a stage winner on the 2015 Vuelta, was next to feel the pinch when his compatriot kicked clear with 22km remaining. Seeking the final piece of his Grand Tour stage victory jigsaw, the 31-year-old Rolland – who is set to join Direct-Energie in the close season – gave it his best shot, but the peloton always held the cards.

It was all over for Rolland with 20km remaining as Sky came to the front of the pack around the same time that the rainbow jersey of Sagan slipped off the back – never to be seen again.

Sagan was joined by Dennis and Porte in a gruppetto which eventually came home 13:31 in arrears as a demanding first proper day in the saddle took its toll over constantly undulating roads in Andalusia.

The majority of general classification favourites finished in a select chasing group eight seconds down on Valverde and Kwiatkowski – although Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) conceded a further 11 seconds while Ireland’s Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) lost 1:15 after losing touch on the Alto de Guadalhorce, the fourth and final categorised climb.

Such losses were minor compared to the four minutes conceded by Bahrain Merida’s Nibali, while BMC’s Porte can now wave away any chances of a high finish in Madrid.

If it was Sky who set the lion’s share of the tempo during a frantic final 10km which blew the race apart, it was Movistar’s Valverde who reaped the rewards. The 38-year-old was always the favourite for such a finish, but the way in which the ever-green star zipped past Kwiatkowski – a whole decade his junior – underlined the fine form in which the veteran racer enters the Vuelta.

A tenth career victory on his home Tour means Valverde has now finished in the top 10 of a Vuelta stage on 94 occasions in a record stretching back 16 years and 12 editions.

As for Kwiatkowski, two successive second-place finishes will leave the 28-year-old frustrated – but the Pole will be pleased with a career first leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour.

Stage 3 of the Vuelta – another hilly 178km ride from Mijas to Alhaurin de la Torre – includes the first Cat.1 climb of the race but finishes on the flat in what could produce the major showdown between the sprinters.

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