UAE loses leader's jersey to conti-team: Movistar wins second stage O Gran Camiño

Carlos Canal won the second stage of O Gran Camiño on Wednesday. The home rider for Movistar was the fastest in a thinned-out peloton. The Spanish team seemed set to take over the leader's jersey from UAE, who saw Julius Johansen dropped on the climb, but conti-rider Rafael Reis was still hidden in the peloton. Visma | Lease a Bike is in a good position with Jorgen Nordhagen sitting second in the standings.

During the opening time trial of O Gran Camiño on Tuesday, Julius Johansen was convincingly the fastest. The Dane from UAE took the first leader's jersey with a sixteen-second advantage over runner-up Rafael Reis. The best-placed GC contender was Visma | Lease a Bike talent Jorgen Nordhagen.

The second stage was, on paper, an ideal route for sprinters with climbing legs. The final categorised climb was situated about twenty kilometres from the finish and was 2.6km long at 8.4%. After that, however, the road continued to rise awkwardly, which could prove too difficult for the pure sprinters.

After twenty kilometres, an initial breakaway of five formed. Notable names included the Dutch Pole Danny van der Tuuk and the number five in the standings, Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural). Almost thirty kilometres later, a group of three decided to launch a counter-attack. They made the bridge, eventually giving us a group of eight out front. They were granted a maximum lead of three minutes.

UAE controlled the peloton, while Visma | Lease a Bike also moved to the fore. In the second part of the stage, things were restless along the coast. The wind was blowing, causing the peloton to stretch into a single line. However, there were no echelons yet. The gap to the breakaway was reduced by the men from the Emirates to just under a minute and a half.

Movistar also joined the battle for positions at the front of the peloton in anticipation of the final climb. With Carlos Canal, they had one of the favourites for the stage win. In the breakaway, the three strongest riders had separated themselves from the rest. Otruba was joined by Sinuhé Fernández (Burgos BH) and Tomas Contte (Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé). The trio began the climb with a lead of over one minute.

On the climb, Otruba quickly left his fellow escapees behind, while Movistar significantly increased the pace in the peloton. For a long time, it seemed no attack would come from the bunch, but Kevin Vermaerke eventually attacked just before the summit. The UAE man immediately got a small gap but was quickly caught by the men of Visma | Lease a Bike. Otruba was still riding half a minute ahead of the peloton.

On the descent, there were various attacks from, among others, Iván Romeo (Movistar). However, all attacks were neutralised by the men of Caja Rural, the teammates of the leader on the road. Due to Romeo's acceleration, Otruba's lead vanished like snow in the sun, while overall leader Johansen meanwhile ended up in a second group.

The Dane ultimately had to let the second peloton go as well and seemed destined to surrender his leader's jersey after just one day. Movistar was in an ideal position with Nelson Oliveira to take over the lead, which led to Romeo riding hard at the front of the peloton. Furthermore, they still had Canal in reserve. With seven kilometres to go, it looked set to be a sprint from a thinned-out peloton.

There was another attack from the Visma | Lease a Bike camp, but the powerhouse Romeo closed everything down. Eventually, it was Movistar themselves who attempted a move with Oliveira. However, he was finally caught two kilometres from the finish. Entering the final kilometre, Canal was perfectly positioned. The Galician managed to finish off his team's hard work and seized the victory. Conti-rider Rafael Reis was hidden in the peloton and will start in the leader's jersey on Thursday.