'We must have been going 80km/h plus' - Ethan Vernon holds off Matthew Brennan to win stage 2 of Volta a Catalunya
Brits score 1-2 in sprint finish on race's second day


The Brits continued to pay homage to Catalonia on Tuesday, as Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) outsprinted Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) to win his first race of the season.
Vernon, who earned his first professional win at the Volta a Catalunya in 2022, was the fastest in Figueres on stage two, holding off the opening day's teenage winner.
The finale played out on fast, wide roads, with Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) leading the sprint around a right-bending finishing straight. Vernon then came around the outside, stretching out an advantage and winning by a wheel's length.
“I’m starting to like this race. It’s bringing some good memories,” the 24-year-old smiled afterwards.
“We came with momentum about 2km to go, with a full train, and we set up perfectly for the end. It was really chaotic. I think we must have been going 80km/h plus at the end there. With the tailwind, it was super-fast. In the end, it suited me.”
Vernon appeared to be in difficulty halfway through the 180km stage, which, although billed as a sprint day, still counted almost 2,000m of climbing. The peloton had two climbs to traverse, including the category-one Coll de Sant Pere de Rodes (7.7km at 6.3%).
“It wasn’t an easy day,” the Brit said. “I think [Lidl-]Trek and some other teams made it hard on the climb, so I suffered a bit then. But I came back, thanks to the job of Itamar [Einhorn], my teammate, who brought me back in a good condition.”
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Despite the presence of Groves, a seven-time Vuelta a España stage winner, Brennan was the favourite going into the sprint after his heroics on stage one. The 19-year-old claimed a spectacular maiden WorldTour victory on Monday, when he closed the gap to a lone escapee and held off the peloton on an uphill drag.
Brennan’s victory marked four wins in a row for the Visma-Lease a Bike neo pro. Second place on stage two meant he extended his race lead by two seconds; he now leads Groves by six seconds.
Wednesday’s third stage at the Volta a Catalunya brings a mountain day with the race’s first summit finish, atop La Molina. It is, on paper, the toughest of the seven stages, with almost 5,000m to climb.
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Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
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