Eduard-Michael Grosu (Delko Marseille Provence) put in a late attack to clinch victory on stage 2 of the CRO Race, three seconds ahead of Alex Edmondson (Mitchelton-Scott) and Marko Kump (Adria Mobil), who rounded out the podium.
The Romanian took his fifth victory of the season from a reduced group of 35 riders on what was expected to be a sprint stage, though a mass crash in the peloton just 7km from the finish put paid to any hopes of a full bunch sprint.
With a ten-second bonus for winning the stage, plus the three seconds gained with his attack, Grosu now leads the race by five seconds from stage 1 winner Kump. Edmondon lies third overall, 13 seconds back, level with Yevgeniy Gidich (Astana).
After the finish, a spectator running on the road took out several riders, including Edmondson, Mattia Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) and Cyril Gautier (Total Direct Énergie). Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Merida) was also involved, and it later emerged that he would have to withdraw from the race before stage 3.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor before being hired full-time. Her favourite races include the Paris-Roubaix, Tour de France Femmes, Tro-Bro Léon, and cycling's fourth Grand Tour, the Volta a Portugal.
UCI states that the Swiss Federal Tribunal has dismissed López's appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which had dismissed his appeal against the UCI
