Tour of Spain: very good shot of Lampaert and Quick-Step

Photo: Jaime Reina Agence France-Presse
“Just before the roundabout, my teammates, I shouted “vas-y, vas-y”, I could make the last mile very fast, and I’m glad to be gone at the end. I don’t realize what happens to me, it’s crazy,” said Yves Lampaert.

Gruissan (France) — The Belgian Yves Lampaert has won on Sunday in Gruissan (Aude), the second stage of the Tour of Spain and took the leader’s jersey after a quick masterclass in the final of his team Quick-Step.

No offense to the sprinters, one of the few stages of this Vuelta that were in favour didn’t ended with a massive sprint.

Because after more than 200 kilometres to ride grouped in the wind, where the pack was concerned more that all the risk is on borders, and he would eventually explode in the final kilometres in the stroke of the acceleration of the belgian education.

And Lampaert has finished the work by speeding up still 900 meters away from the arrival to outrun the dozen riders with him and cross the line solo ahead of his team-mate, Italian Matteo Trentin and the british rider Aqua Blue Sports, Adam Blythe.

“Just before the roundabout, my teammates, I shouted “vas-y, vas-y”, I could make the last mile very fast, and I’m glad to be gone at the end. I don’t realize what happens to me, it’s crazy, ” he said at the finish.

In addition to its first victory in a Grand Tour, his pedal stroke has allowed the Belgian to rob Rohan Dennis (BMC) in the leader’s red jersey that the Australian had endorsed Saturday after winning the against-the-shows by teams in the streets of Nîmes.

In the general classification, Lampaert has 1 second lead over Trentino (2nd), 3 Daniel Oss (BMC, 3rd) and 17 on Dennis (6th). The first is French Julian Alaphilippe (7th, +0 : 18), who led the attack of the Quick-Step with the Belgian.

Before this final, the peloton had rolled to a train to hell, the teams of the main contenders in the general classification in the lead to protect their leader from any risk of the edge. Only a TGV train will have stopped at a level crossing 50 km from the finish…

The big favourite of the race, Chris Froome (Sky), who had a mechanical problem with 70 miles of Gruissan, but was quickly brought back to the front by his teammates, is he already back in the Top 10 overall (9th, +0 : 21). And took passage 5 extra seconds to Alberto Contador and Romain Bardet.

If Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain), the other great favourite, he has however taken over 8 seconds and only 14 seconds behind the British, the Italian has suffered a big blow by losing it in a fall on the second day, one of his lieutenants in the mountains, the Spanish Javier Moreno. The Moroccan Anass Ait El Abdia (UAE Team Emirates), has also been forced to drop out.

As of Monday, the serious things will begin with a first step of mountain between Prades (Eastern Pyrenees) and Andorra (158,5 km). In the program, three passes, including two first-category col de la Perche and the col de la Rabassa.

What build of first differences serious in the general classification before the pack arrived Tuesday in Spain, in Tarragona, in Catalonia bereaved by the attacks to jihadists in Barcelona and Cambrils.