Defending champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) took the overall lead in the Volta a Catalunya by winning Tuesday’s second stage in a bunch sprint.
Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) was second and Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) third in the 175-kilometer (108-mile) stage from Mataro to Valls.
Valverde took a four-second lead over McCarthy in the overall standings. Impey is six seconds behind Valverde and five seconds in front of fourth-place Nairo Quintana.
“I feel phenomenal, it was a very nervous day with the wind but we were very careful through the whole team and throughout the day,” said Valverde.
“I want to dedicate this victory to my boy Ivan who the other day broke his shoulder playing football.”
Wednesday’s third stage will take riders 199 kilometers (123 miles) from Sant Cugat del Valles to Setcases.
https://youtu.be/mx8xnSLl1Fo?t=2653
Volta a Catalunya 2018 – stage 2 results (Mataró – Valls):
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | 4:41:50 |
| 2 | Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 3 | Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 4 | Egan Bernal (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 5 | Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 6 | Enrico Gasparotto (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 7 | José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) | ,, |
| 8 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 9 | Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 10 | Alex Howes (EF Education First-Drapac) | ,, |
General classification after stage 2:
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | 8:21:09 |
| 2 | Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) | +04” |
| 3 | Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) | +06” |
| 4 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | +11” |
| 5 | Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) | +12” |
| 6 | Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 7 | Eduard Prades (Euskadi Basque Country-Murias) | ,, |
| 8 | Enrico Gasparotto (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 9 | Julien Simon (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 10 | Egan Bernal (Team Sky) | ,, |
