Kaden Groves exchanged bicycle with Xandro Meurisse before fighting his way back to the peloton and claiming his second stage of Volta a Catalunya ahead of Bryan Coquard.
Despite the suitable terrain on offer for the breakaway and sprinters, the 174-kilometre stage still featured another chapter in the battle between general classification leader Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel.
In the end, both riders took a second off one another from the intermediate sprint bonuses on offer to leave the gap at 10 seconds ahead of the final stage in Barcelona.
“Number one was nice but a second stage win this week, so I’m very happy,” Groves said after the race.
“At about seven or eight kilometres to go I felt my rear tyre had a slow leak. I wasn’t sure whether to stop or not. I was thinking maybe I should do the sprint with it pretty flat. But in the end, I’ve got to thank my directors – they decided that I should do a bike swap with Xandro.
“So, at about 5km to go I stopped and he gave me his bike. Then I got to come back and with the help of Nicola, I got back to the front for the sprint.
⏩Torna a vibrar amb el darrer quilòmetre i la segona victòria d'etapa de @kaden_groves a @AjMolinsdeRei
⏩ Relive the last km and the second stage win of
@kaden_groves at @AjMolinsdeRei#VoltaCatalunya102 pic.twitter.com/AUyICWsbcz
— Volta a Catalunya (@VoltaCatalunya) March 25, 2023
