Meersman wins Catalunya stage to Banyole

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General classification leader Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) triumphed for the second straight stage at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, timing his sprint to perfection on the slightly uphill finale in Banyole.

Daniele Ratto (Cannondale) finished second on the day, while Brett Lancaster (Orica GreenEdge) rounded out the top three in a field sprint finale marred by a crash in the final 200 metres.

Among the five riders who hit the tarmac was Valerio Agnoli (Astana), runner-up on the opening stage to Meersman but denied a chance today to go head-to-head with the Belgian for stage honours and time bonuses. The Italian, as well as the four other riders who crashed, were credited with the same finishing time as Meersman, however, governed by the rules concerning incidents within the final 3km of a stage.

Meersman again picked up the stage winner's 10-second time bonus and extends his overall lead to 14 seconds on Agnoli while Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) holds third on general classification at 16 seconds.

"It's the first time I've won two races in a row," said Meersman. "It's really a special feeling after all the sacrifices I have done in my career."

While Meersman will enter Wednesday's stage three resplendent in the leader's jersey, he's realistic about his chances on a day with a mountain finish on the hors catégorie-rated Vallter 2000 summit.

"About the stage of tomorrow, we will go into the mountains," said Meersman. "So it will be my turn to help and work for my teammates and try to give them back all the help they gave me for these two first stages."

Long day on the attack

The peloton commenced stage 2 with two fewer riders than yesterday as both Chris Horner (RadioShack Leopard) and Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) did not start. One of the protagonists from yesterday's opening stage, Christian Meier (Orica GreenEdge), went out on the early attack once again today and was joined by Olivier Kaisen (Lotto Belisol) and Christophe Laborie (Sojasun) in the opening kilometres to form the break of the day.

With the sprinters' teams focussed on a bunch sprint finale the three escapees were kept on a tight leash, their lead fluctuating between two and three minutes, and their time off the front came to its expected end with 20km to go.

The 160.7km stage from Girona to Banyole concluded with four laps of a 9.2km finishing circuit providing the sprinters' teams an opportunity to preview the finishing straight and dial in their respective lead-outs.

Blanco Pro Cycling took control of the race entering the final 9.2km lap and kept the peloton together until a four-man break formed with 3.4km to go, spearheaded by Marcus Burghardt (BMC) and marked by Polish champion Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) plus riders from Vacansoleil-DCM and Cannondale Pro Cycling. AG2R La Mondiale and Blanco brought the escapees back just inside two kilometres to go and as the peloton roared under the flamme rouge two Blanco riders held a slender gap at the head of the lined-out peloton.

With the road pitching slightly upwards, Omega Pharma-Quick Step's Andrew Fenn came to the fore after the final turn in service of race leader Gianni Meersman, who exercised patience until the closing metres when he launched his sprint and held off the challenge of Daniele Ratto for stage honours.

"The final circuit was nervous, but we were always on the front controlling," said Meersman. "Then, I have to say the team did a great job in the last two kilometres. Dries did a great thing closing the gap on two Blanco riders off the front, and then Andy Fenn led me to the 200 metre point. It was perfect, so I came out from the bunch and I did my sprint and I won."

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