Vuelta: Groves takes stage, Van Aert red jersey as Tarling avoids injury in crash
The Australian rider Kaden Groves sprinted to victory in the second stage of the Vuelta a España on Sunday as Wout van Aert pulled on the overall leader’s red jersey.
Groves, of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, held off Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a hectic finish to what had been a relatively sedate 194km ride inland to the north from the Portuguese coastal town of Cascais to Ourém. The New Zealander Corbin Strong (Israel Premier Tech) came home third.
Van Aert was left frustrated at not winning a stage for the second successive day, after coming third in the opening time trial on Saturday, but the Belgian took the red jersey by virtue of six bonus seconds.
“Of course, I wanted to win this stage, my team did a really good job to make it a bunch sprint so it’s unfortunate to arrive second, but today I knew that finishing in the first three meant the red jersey, so after all it’s a good day,” Van Aert said.
Several riders were involved in a crash inside the last 4km with the British rider Josh Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers lucky to avoid serious injury as he crashed into a wall. All of them managed to reach the finish line and did not lose time.
The race became animated on the descent of a late climb with riders topping 80km/h on the speed gun as they hurtled towards the finish. In the bunch sprint, Van Aert made the first move but Groves timed his effort superbly to take the win. It was the Australian’s fifth career stage win at the Vuelta.
“It’s a really nice way to start this Vuelta,” Groves said. “It’s been a hard year for myself, not having a win yet, but I came here super-motivated to change that, and I’ve got to thank my team for a really strong ride today.”
Stage three on Monday is the last to take place in Portugal, with the course taking the riders from Lousã to Castelo Branco.
Jonas Vingegaard, meanwhile, won the Tour of Poland in a triumphant return to the race where it all started for the two-time Tour de France champion. The Danish rider decided against racing in the Vuelta a España after an exhausting Tour de France where he finished second having spent three months out of action following a crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April.
Instead, he returned to Poland, the scene of his first UCI World Tour win in 2019, when he triumphed on stage six. While he did not win a stage this time, he went one better with the overall race
“Everything went according to plan,” Vingegaard said. “After the Tour de France, I felt that I had 100% recovered from the injury. This season I have learned to enjoy the moments and not to make long-term plans. Now I need a rest and then I will think about the future.”