Alaphilippe takes stage 2 at Vuelta a San Juan with solo attack

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Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) used his attacking skills, aggression and speed to win stage 2 of the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina, making a late solo attack and holding off his chasers.

The Frenchman made the decisive attack over the top of the Alto Punta Negra dam, dragging Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) with him. When the chasers closed them down on the fast final two kilometres, Alaphilippe surged away again and powered his way through the finish. He eased up before the line to celebrate, leaving his rivals to watch in disappointment behind.

Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) won the reduced sprint to take second place, beating Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jens Keukeleire (Lotto Soudal). Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) finished just behind in 12th place and so kept the race leader’s white jersey.

Due to time bonuses, Gaviria now leads Alaphilippe by three seconds, with Consonni third at seven seconds. Sagan is fourth at nine seconds.

Nineteen-year-old neo-pro Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) finished 15th on the stage after surviving the attacks on the late climb up to the dam edge. He celebrated Alaphilippe’s victory with his arms in the air. He also got his own reward, being called to the podium to pull on the green best-under-23-rider jersey.

The stage was shortened from 160km to 134km due to an extreme weather warning, but the riders again raced on in 40C temperatures. 

Hamish Schreurs (Israel Cycling Academy) was the hero of the day, going in the early break with a number of local riders and then powering on alone. He was caught in the last 10km of the stage just before the testing climb to the edge of the Punta Negra Dam. 

Winner Anaconda and Nairo Quintana set a fast pace but Alaphilippe was waiting on their wheel and attacked over the top to set up his solo win. In 2018 he won his first race in Colombia. He appears to be ahead of schedule as he prepares for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo in South America.   

"I was really looking to win today. This was a good stage for me and all the team did a good job. I was motivated to finish it off and when I attacked I never imagined I'd stay away to the line, but I did. I’m really happy to start my season with a win," Alaphilippe explained, playing down talk he is now an overall contender. 

"There’s the time trial next, but I’m here to start my season and wanted to win a stage. I’ve done that and so now I’ll take the GC day-by-day. There’s no pressure on me to do well in the general classification. Stage 3 is another day. I’ll try to do my best again. If I get a good result, it's nice, but if I lose time, it's no stress. We’ll have other opportunities."  

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