Arredondo nets first win with Trek on stage 2 of Tour de San Luis

Julián Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing) outsprinted Peter Stetina (BMC) to win stage 2 of the Tour de San Luis atop the Mirador del Potrero, the first mountain finish of the Argentinean race. The duo escaped early on the 4.8km ascent to the line and just held off an elite chase group to vie for stage honours.

It was an emotional win for Arredondo, as the flyweight, 25-year-old Colombian jumped to the WorldTour this season after spending two seasons racing for the Continental Team Nippo squad in Japan.

"I cannot believe what just happened," said Arredondo. "In the last months I trained hard and was very focused on winning for the team, to thank them for their trust in me. I didn't realize how strong I was. You have no reference in the winter and there are many WorldTour teams here."

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) out-kicked compatriot Darwin Atapuma (BMC) for third to lead in the chasers, three seconds behind Arredondo and Stetina.

Stetina, making his debut for BMC at the Tour de San Luis, initiated the race winning escape with a solo attack one kilometre into the 4.8km finishing ascent. Hoping his teammate Darwin Atapuma, also in his first race for BMC, would then bridge across, instead the 26-year-old American was joined by another Colombian in Arredondo, the 2013 Tour de Langkawi winner.

"It was a tactical climb with a strong headwind so after a kilometre it swelled at the front," said Stetina. "I looked over at Darwin, who's our climber extraordinaire, and he nodded at me so I decided to hit out and make it hard because otherwise it was just going to be too much drafting all the way up.

"I got a gap immediately and I was hoping it would shatter immediately and maybe Darwin could jump across, but Arredondo made it up to me.

"I decided to keep going and make it hard at the front and he wasn't willing to take a pull. That was his tactic and in the end he was willing to lose it more than I was. He played that card and I wasn't willing to let the group get closer. He had a better kick than me at the end."

Phillip Gaimon (Garmin-Sharp) rode strongly in defense of his leader's jersey, finishing 15th at 19 seconds down on Arredondo after climbing with the leaders on the closing ascent. Gaimon started the stage with a 4:35 lead over the general classification favorites after his stage winning breakaway the day before, and retains a firm grip on the general classification. Two other escapees from the opening stage hold second and third, with Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthcare) at 1:47 followed by Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge) at 3:56.

Stetina and Arredondo, in fourth and fifth respectively, both 4:16 in arrears of Gaimon, represent the best of those who finished in the peloton yesterday.

"[Tom] Danielson paced me the whole way up [the final climb] and I kind of cracked in the last 500 meters, but the guys all rode awesome today," said Gaimon.

"Now that I know that I can kind of climb with these guys and be up there it's a big relief I think for everybody on the team. No one was really sure what I would do today, myself included."

The day commenced with an early break of five riders comprised of Jorge Giacinti and Cristian Martinez (San Luis Somos Todos), Sebastian Trillini (Argentina), Jonathan Guzman (Chile), and Sebastian Tolosa (Buenos Aires Provincia). The escape was kept in check, with a lead hovering around four minutes, and ultimately the last of the group was swept up in the approach to the finishing climb.

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