Sam Bennett, first sprint winner; Teunissen new leader

the Irish Sam Bennett (Bora-hansghohe) was imposed on second stage of Back to Spain argued between Hertogenbosch and Utrecht with a tour of 175.1 kilometerswhere the Dutch Mike Teunissen (Jumbo Visma) wore a red jersey.

A chaotic arrival somewhere Alejandro Valverde fell 700 meters from the finish line, without seriousness for the Murcian cyclist, who bemoaned his fate when he was caught by the “hostión”, as he hotly commented. As some looked at their wounds, Irish Bennett (Wervik, 31 years old) raised his arms in victory.

The Bora sprinter broke into the lead and with a tight arrival he imposed his power with a time of 3h.49.34, at an average of 45.8 km/h, ahead of the Dane crazy petersen (Trek) and Belgian Tim Merlier (Alpecin Deceuninck).

Fourth place went to the new leader, the Dutchman from Jumbo Visma Mike Teunissena rider leading the 2019 Tour after winning the first stage in Brussels. Gesink passed the baton to a colleague and compatriot. Relief for the team. The Italian followed him to the general Edward Affini and the dutch Sam Omen. In Roglic as the real leader in fourth place, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz is seventh to 13 seconds and Carlos Rodríguez first Spanish, ninth, with the same time.

Stage in cycling land, with a light start in Hertogenbosch (Ducal Forest), capital of North Brabant, medieval tourist town, cradle of the genius of Flemish painting known as Hieronymus Bosch, who created the “new path”. A path for the runners will lead to a day for the sprint, where the “cheetahs” of the peloton are expected.

The first escape of this edition was immediately drawn with the local Van den Berg (EF Education), Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH), Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma), giving himself a getaway in his 22 birthday, Xabier Azparren ( Euskaltel-Euskadi ) and Thibault Guernalec, there is no danger of risking Robert Gesink’s red card.

The adventure was allowed, which had an advantage of 6 minutes, but the appearance of the wind and the reaction of the peloton was condemned to escape far from the finish line, although the effective shooting was not effective until 58 km from the finish line . Before, the Dutch representative Van der Berg was crowned first on the Amerongse climb (4th), which allowed him to climb the podium wearing the mountain’s first jersey, white with blue dots.

Alpecin Deceuninck worked to finish the breakaway, and that work helped Jumbo to have a very useful “hare”, where Gesink’s red and boss Primoz Roglic were safely away from his seat. The idea of ​​Alpecin is to promote the massive arrival for Merlier’s auction, but teams like Trek with Pedersen or UAE with Ackerman have the same goal.

There is another rebel, another dreamer ready to break the order. It is none other than Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel Euskadi), the king of breakaways. The side of Marbella started alone in search of the impossible.

Half a minute difference for the “Marbella border” 35 km from Utrecht, which has almost no options, but with advertising profitability for his team and staff. The 38-year-old runner, in his eleventh participation, has pledged to plant a tree for every kilometer run in the Vuelta to revisit the Sierra Bermeja, once ravaged by fire.

The lynx disappeared 20 minutes after arrival, that is, about 25 trees for Maté and the burnt mountain. The peloton was immediately energized for the contested intermediate sprint of the Vliegbasis Soesterberg, where Pedersen passed first. Nervousness caused the fall of Mulhberger and Poels, among others, and Jumbo, unwilling to take risks, began to shoot at the lead.

The decoration changed as it approached the goal located in the University City of Utrecht. It has already shot to 50 per hour and the teams are looking for their strategy to launch their sprint candidate.

Ineos came first to avoid what causes runners to panic: falling. The men from Carapaz and Carlos Rodríguez stepped up the pace, lengthening the shape of the peloton, with the men from UAE, BikeExchange and Alpecin looking for the best position when the pack was released for victory.

UAE sent Marc Soler early to put Ackerman, moment where the lack of control was installed, already inside the safety zone 3 km before the finish line. There were nerves, doubts and maneuvers that ended in an accident.

700 meters from the line there is a montonera. Valverde was caught. “They fell in front and I couldn’t avoid it, the day was not calm, as the host showed. I think it’s nothing,” reassured “Bala”.

Some on the ground, others for victory. Sam Bennett is fishing in a rough river. The Wervik cyclist extended his record, which already includes 4 stages in the Vuelta, in addition to 3 in the Giro and 2 in the Tour de France, to a total of 58 victories on his record. Now wearing green, the Irish can breathe a sigh of relief. “If there is no winning, the other goals are useless,” he said.

This Sunday the third stage will be held with the start and finish in Breda, the longest day of this edition with 193.2 km of travel.

Classifications

Stage 2, ‘s-Hertogenbosch-Utrecht, 175.1km
1. Sam Bennett (Irl/Bora-hansgrohe) 3h 49’34”
2. Mads Pedersen (Din/Trek-Segafredo) id.
3. Tim Merlier (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) id.
4. Mike Teunissen (Pba/Jumbo-Visma) id.
5. Pascal Ackermann (Ale/UAE Emirates) id.
6. Daniel Mclay (Gbr/Arkéa-Samsic) id.
7. Itamar Einhorn (Isr/Israel-Premier Tech) id.
8. Jake Stewart (Gbr/Groupama-FDJ) id.
9. John Degenkolb (Ale/Team DSM) id.
10. Kaden Groves (Aus/BikeExchange) id.

General
1. Mike Teunissen (Pba/J. Visma) 4h 14’14”
2. Edoardo Affini (Ita/Jumbo-Visma) id.
3. Sam Oomen (Pba/Jumbo-Visma) id.
4. Primoz Roglic (Esl/Jumbo-Visma) id.
5. Sepp Kuss (USA/Jumbo-Visma) id.
6. Ethan Hayter (Gbr/Ineos) at 12”
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos) at 13”
8. Pavel Sivakov (Fra/Ineos) id.
9. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP / Ineos) id.
10. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Quick-Step) at 14”
11. Ilvan van Wilder (Bél/Quick-Step) id.
12. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Quick-Step) id.
…
14. Simon Yates (GBR/BikeExchange) on 31”
20. Juan Ayuso (ESP/UAE) and 33”
28. Marc Soler (ESP/UAE) ID.
33. Luis León Sánchez (ESP/Bahrain Win.) at 42”
35. Mikel Landa (ESP/Bahrain Victorious) id.
37. José Joaquín Rojas (ESP/Movistar) at 43”
38. Enric Mas (ESP/Movistar) id.
42. Miguel Ángel López (Col/Astana) at 46”
75. Juan Pedro Lópes (ESP/Trek) at 1’17”