Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) won Stage 2 of the 2022 Vuelta a España from a bunch sprint after a fairly hectic end to a fast stage.
He'd been reported to be off form and lacking in confidence, but looked to have plenty of both as he celebrated his win on a flat stage in the Netherlands.
Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had been the favourite for the day, and his team had ridden throughout, but some tussling in the bunch put him out of position and he couldn't get on terms with the Irishman.
Past World Champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) finished between them for second on the stage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
On a flat day in the Netherlands on Stage 2 of the 2022 Vuelta a España, you would have expected a formulaic day of breakaway-hold-chase-catch-sprint. However, that wasn't quite the way things went.
Deciding, or being told, they wanted a day in the breakaway were Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Thibault Guernalec (Arkea-Samsic), Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma). Initially the peloton let them build up an advantage of around five minutes but then Alpecin-Deceuninck got on the front and it dropped down towards just two minutes with quite a lot of the stage left to race.
Those riders' plans for a full day in the break were soon looking sketchy thanks to Alpecin's determination to bring them back. Probably not the format the breakaway had in mind when they went off the front earlier in the stage. With the front of the bunch almost within touching distance and the peloton strung out the pace dropped, the riders spread out across the road and the gap went back up to around 45 seconds.
After the race continued with the break dangling off the front, the chance to wear a different jersey came up and Van den Berg launched for the "mountains" points, earning the right to wear that jersey tomorrow.
The lead group of five broke up, reformed and then with 58.4km to go they were passed by Alpecin-Decuninck at the head of the peloton. That's a long way for the sprinters' teams to control the race.
Unsatisfied with this new situation, Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi) thought he'd have a little solo off the front. It's good for the sponsors. While that was happening, Mark Donovan (Team DSM) needed a bike change at the back of the peloton, his demeanour suggesting he may have crashed.
A long, tree-lined, flat road allowed the peloton to watch but not catch Maté for quite some time, delaying the inevitable crash as the situation was fully under control.
Within the 20km to go mark the solo break was over and the combination of the sprint and GC teams vied for the front of the peloton on a fairly narrow road. Riders were going down at the back of the peloton, running out of road space and hitting the deck.
Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) appeared at the front of the bunch to take full points at the late Intermediate Sprint point. The peloton had been strung out for that sprint before briefly bunching up, until QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl led through a technical section.
There was a hint of rain late on, adding further complication and stress to the closing stages of the day, but thankfully it didn't come to much.
Sweeping bends made position even more important that usual as the peloton hurtled towards the sprint finish.
Vuelta a España 2022: Stage 2 results
1. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:49:34
2. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
3. Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
4. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
5. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirates
6. Daniel McLay (GBr) Arkea-Samsic
7. Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
8. Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
9. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team DSM
10. Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, all same time
General classification after Stage 2
1. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, in 4:14:14
2. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Jumbo-Visma
3. Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
4. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
5. Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma, all same time
6. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 12 seconds
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, at 13 seconds
8. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) Ineos Grenadiers
9. Carlos Rodriguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, at same time
10. Remco Evennpoel (Bel) QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl, at 14 seconds
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
-
-
Cycling keeps you fit but are you doing enough to stay healthy?
It’s possible to be very fit in one specific way, for example being fast on a bike, while being unhealthy in other ways
-
Dr Hutch: Motor-doping isn't rife, there's no way cyclists would use it discreetly enough
Some fans think that motor-doping is rife, but Cycling Weekly's columnist Dr Hutch is having none of it
-
Michel Hessmann anti doping positive a ‘black day’ for Jumbo-Visma says boss
22-year-old German rider suspended by Dutch team in August after positive test revealed presence of diuretics
-
How much did Sepp Kuss and Jumbo-Visma win at the Vuelta a España 2023?
Turns out locking out the podium for much of the race gets you quite a few Euros
-
Five things we learned from the Vuelta a España 2023: Sepp Kuss is the real deal and Ineos still lacking
Here's what we learned from the final Grand Tour of the 2023 season
-
Kaden Groves wins final stage of Vuelta a España as Sepp Kuss confirms victory
Sepp Kuss completes his victory in the Vuelta a España around the streets of Madrid
-
Sepp Kuss set to win historic Vuelta a España as Wout Poels claims stage 20
American poised for an unexpected but worthy Grand Tour victory in Madrid
-
Remco Evenepoel powers to solo breakaway victory on stage 18 of Vuelta a España
Evenepoel seizes third victory of 2023 Vuelta at La Cruz de Linares as Sepp Kuss stays top of general classification
-
Analysis: What is going on with Jumbo-Visma and Sepp Kuss at the Vuelta a España?
The man in the red jersey was attacked for the second day running by his teammates, for seemingly little gain
-
Jumbo-Visma tightens grip on Vuelta a España as Primož Roglič leads stage 17 podium blitz atop the Angliru
Sepp Kuss keeps the red jersey by eight seconds over Jonas Vingegaard going into the final four stages
