Tour of the Alps: Lopez wins stage 2

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Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) claimed victory atop Alpe di Pampeago on stage 2 of the Tour of the Alps, out-kicking Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Ivan Sosa (Androni Gioccatoli-Sidermec), while his fellow countryman Sosa moved into the overall lead after an assured showing in elite company on the wickedly steep final climb.

Lopez proved the sharpest of an elite selection that formed in the final kilometre, and he delivered a vicious acceleration inside the final 100 metres to beat Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) to the line, while Sosa came home in third on the stage.

Chris Froome (Team Sky), who is racing despite his ongoing salbutamol case, kick-started the attacking in the finale with an acceleration beneath the flamme rouge. The Briton had appeared to struggle early on the climb, however, and seemed sluggish on the severe final ramps, where he had to settle for fourth, four seconds behind Sosa, while Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) followed the Briton home in fifth.

Of the Giro d'Italia contenders on show in Trentino, Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) again struggled the most. The Italian champion conceded 34 seconds in the closing kilometres to place 10th on the stage, though his podium finishes at the Giro came in the wake of underwhelming results beforehand.

The severity of the finale meant that the favourites waited until the cusp of the final kilometre before showing their hands. Froome, Pinot and Pozzovivo all attempted to punch their way clear in the final kilometre but were unable to shake off their rivals. Lopez signalled his intentions with an acceleration of his own 500 metres from home, and he secured stage victory with a well-timed effort within sight of the line.

Lopez dedicated his win to the late Michele Scarponi, who claimed the final victory of his career at this race a year ago. "I raised my arms in honour of Scarpa, a champion and a special man, someone we miss very much. He'll always be in our hearts," said Lopez, who will lead Astana at the forthcoming Giro. "After my training at altitude, I had good sensations. My teammates did great work and I couldn't let them down in the sprint."

Lopez' fellow Colombian Sosa was content to track the moves in the closing kilometres, and his second successive third-place finish here was enough to put him into the overall lead, 6 seconds ahead of Pinot and Lopez, and 16 up on Froome. Still only 20 years of age, Lopez is the latest South American talent to emerge in Gianni Savio's stable, and he performed strongly at the Colombia Paz y Oro race earlier in the season.

How it unfolded

The second stage of the Tour of the Alps was always likely to boil down to a showdown among the favourites on the tough final climb, which first gained notoriety when it hosted a duel between Marco Pantani and Pavel Tonkov on the 1998 Giro d'Italia, though it did not deter a platoon of early attackers from forging clear.

On a day of pleasant sunshine in Trentino, Quentin Jauregui (AG2R La Mondiale), Jacopo Mosca (Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia), Stephen Rabitsch (Team Felbermayr Simplon), Oscar Rodriguez (Euskadi-Murias), Marco Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli) and Omer Goldstein (Israel Cycling Academy) went away after 25 kilometres and led over the Passo Redebus and the climb to Cavalese, while the Astana team of overnight leader Pello Bilbao patrolled the peloton behind.

Groupama-FDJ and UAE Team Emirates took up the reins on the long false flat that preceded the final 8km haul to the line, and their combined efforts brought the escapees' advantage down from 3:30 with 18km remaining to a little over a minute by the time the final ascent began.

Goldstein, Mosca and Rodriguez all lost contact before the climb to Alpe di Pampeago began, and once the gradient began to bite in earnest, Jauregui proved himself the class of the break by pressing on clear alone.

The pace in the rapidly shrinking main peloton was increasing, however, and was such that even Froome himself looked to be in difficulty on the lower slopes before a delegation of white Sky jerseys guided him back to the front. Jauregui was reeled in with 5km to go after an impressive stint of pace-making from Groupama-FDJ's Georg Preidler before Sky took over on the front.

Jan Hirt (Astana) was the first rider to attack from the group, dancing clear 2.5km from the summit in the company of Riccardo Zoidl (Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels), though they were soon brought to heel by Sky's Diego Rosa and Kenny Elissonde.

Bilbao, meanwhile, was beginning to struggle, and he lost contact with the diminishing front group as the race entered the final 2 kilometres. Elissonde piled on the pressure thereafter, before swinging off just shy of the flamme rouge, leaving Froome to show his hand.

Froome has built a career on telegraphed attacks that his rivals have simply been unable to follow, but on this occasion, four riders – Pinot, Lopez, Sosa and Pozzovivo – were all able to keep pace with his acceleration. When Froome relented, Pinot and then Pozzovivo tried their luck, before Lopez launched his first attack with 500 metres to go.

That stinging effort briefly distanced Froome, but the lull that followed saw the Briton and Giulio Ciccone (Bardiani-CSF) battle their way back on before the final kick to the line. Lopez repeated the feat within sight of the line, and though Pinot battled gamely for his wheel, the stage was his.

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