Mezgec wins stage 2 of Catalunya

Luka Mezgec (Giant-Shimano) claimed his second straight stage in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya to retain his overall lead. The Slovenian sprinter finished clear of the competition on stage 2 into Girona with a perfectly timed run for the line to hold off Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) and Daniele Ratto (Cannondale).

Mezgec picked up another 10-second time bonus to extend his overall lead in the race, but with the mountains on the horizon the GC contenders will be expected to take over on stage 3.

"I was freezing on the bike on the downhill at the end and was a bit unsure of how the legs would react in the sprint," said Mezgec after the cold and rainy stage. "At 500m to go I was not in perfect position but when I jumped my legs were good.

"The hills weren't too bad today, much easier than on paper. We had to push hard to get Voeckler back in the end but after that it wasn't too hectic as the race was strung out and the guys had put me in position at the front.

"It's great to show that yesterday wasn't just a one off. Tomorrow will be different, though, and I will focus on the sprint opportunities later in the week."

The rain-soaked stage was marked by a number of incidents, the first coming inside the opening 10 kilometres with Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Michel Koch (Cannondale), Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Tomasz Marczynski and Marek Rutkiewicz (CCC Polsat Polkowice) plus Jérôme Baugnies (Wanty - Groupe Gobert) breaking free from the peloton.

Despite a relatively flat parcours the six-man group were given little leeway by the peloton and after 45km of racing they held 2:28 over the field.

Back in the peloton, Richie Porte (Sky) was having another difficult day. The Australian had lost time on the opening stage and having not recovered enough from the illness that took him out of Tirreno-Adriatico, he decided to abandon mid-stage.

Nonetheless Sky still had Chris Froome in contention for the win and the British team joined Giant-Shimano on the front of the peloton as they kept the break at close quarters.

Up ahead, as the rain became more persistent, Baugnies lit the fuse with 26km to go as the peloton closed to within a minute. However, it was Voeckler who jumped clear with a decisive counter-attack. The Frenchman built a lead of close to a minute.

Giant-Shimano, Orica GreenEdge and Trek moved to the fore as the peloton rolled into the final 18km. Belkov dragged the remnants of the break along but Voeckler was still holding 50 seconds over the peloton as he crested the penultimate uncategorized climb and dipped under the 10km to go banner.

Despite Belkov's last stand Sky and Giant reeled in all but Voeckler with Alberto Contador and his Tinkoff-Saxo team close to the head of the field. The dangerous run in, with several wet roundabouts to navigate in the closing kilometres, saw a number of GC contenders brought to the front by their respective teams.

It meant that on the final ramp before the long road into Girona, Voeckler only had 20 seconds left over the bunch. Europcar’s talisman eventually threw in the towel with five kilometres remaining but the wet roads and technical parcours saw a number of teams try and fail to control the pace of the bunch.

In a bid to stay safe, rather than test his rivals, Contador hit the front with the red kite in sight but it was Orica GreenEdge who wound up the pace inside the final 900m as they finally took control of the field. Leigh Howard, who had finished second on the opening stage, looked to be in the prime position but while everyone watched the Australian, Mezgec launched for the line at the perfect moment to take a clear win.