EFE · Road Competition · 03/23/2021
The Australian cyclist Rohan Dennis (Ineos Grenadiers) was the winner of the time trial of the second stage of the 100th edition of the Volta a Catalunya, which had a flat route of 18.5 kilometers with the start and finish in Banyoles, and in which Joo Almeida (Deceunick-Quick Step) took the lead overall.
Dennis, 30, world time trial champion in 2018 and 2019, completed the track in 22 minutes and 27 seconds with 49.3 kilometers per hour on average and took 5 seconds from Rmi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Stepa) and 28 Joao Almeida, third in the stage and who did a better performance than those who opt for victory in the general classification.
The time trial meant that the main favorites to win this centennial edition of the Volta gave up the first important differences. Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) was 34 seconds behind Dennis, Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers), 35, and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), 47.
The Spaniards with options for a final victory did similar times: Luis Len Snchez (Astana-Premier Tech) was 52 seconds behind the winner and placed third overall, just 3 seconds behind Almeida; Marc Soler (Movistar) reached 1 minute and 12 seconds; Alejando Valverde (Movistar) at 1 minute and 14 seconds, and Enric Mas (Movistar) at 1 minute and 19 seconds.
The wind, one of the fears that the cyclists had in this time trial, finally did not manifest itself in a forceful way and thus did not have a decisive impact on the results of a stage that took place on a sunny spring day.
11 years ago in the Return to Catalonia there was no individual time trial. The precedent dates from 2010, when a prologue of only 3.6 kilometers was held in Lloret de Mar. Previously, in 2007, a 17-kilometer time trial was carried out in Arcals (Andorra).
On the other hand, you don’t have to go back too far, just to 2017, to find the last time that Banyoles was the venue for a Volta time trial, in that case by teams. The winner was the BMC team after a sanction against Movistar, which had been imposed at first.
This individual time trial by Banyoles was the first highlight of the Volta after the opening stage ending in Calella, which was beaten by dans Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal). On Wednesday the cyclists will have to face a high mountain stage of just over 203 kilometers, starting at the Canal Olmpic de Catalunya (Castelldefels) and ending at Vallter 2000.
Classifications [Clasificaciones completas]
Stage classification:
1. Rohan Dennis (AUS / Ineos Grenadiers) – 22:272. Rmi Cavagna (FRA/Deceuninck-Quick Step) a 0:053. Joo Almeida (POR / Deceuninck-Quick Step) at 0:284. Brandon McNulty (USA/UAE Emirates) a 0:295. Steven Kruijswijk (NED / Jumbo-Visma) a 0:336. Richie Porte (AUS / Ineos) at 0:357. Adam Yates (GBR/Ineos) a 0:358. Josef Cerny (CZE/Deceuninck-Quick Step) a 0:389. Stefan de Bod (RSA / Astana-Premier Tech) at 0:39
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR/Ineos) a 0:47
General classification:
1. Joao Almeida (POR / Deceuninck-Quick Step) – 4:43:262. Brandon McNulty (USA/UAE Emirates) – m.t.3. LUIS LEN SNCHEZ (ESP / Astana-Premier Tech) at 0:034. Steven Kruijswijk (NED / Jumbo-Visma) a 0:055. Richie Porte (AUS / Ineos) at 0:066. Adam Yates (GBR/Ineos) a 0:077. Stefan de Bod (RSA / Astana-Premier Tech) at 0:108. Geraint Thomas (GBR/Ineos) a 0:199. Mascara (ITA / Deceuninck-Quick Step) at 0:20
10. Lennard Kmna (GER/Bora-Hansgrohe) a 0:21
Next stage, 3: Canal Olmpic de Catalunya – Vallter 2000 / 203.1 Km.
EFE – EFE Agency – All rights reserved. Any type of reproduction is prohibited without the written authorization of the EFE S / A Agency.
