A hilly stage, but not so hilly. The pressure is on Puma now that they have the race leader, but all the team leaders: Ignatiev, Boom, Koren, Reus etc now know that time gains may be needed even before the time trial. If theres to be gaps today though, the riders are really going to have to work for it. And the stage winner could frankly be anyone - a team leader, or a sprinter!
Puma and Ferrari now lead the peloton in chase.
Or even, the breakaway? Because there always is one!
Freire beats McConvey at the first sprint
And here is the break in full:
Petrov
Freire
Astarloza
McConvey
Haavardsholm
Jacques-Maynes
Reis
Keukeleire
With Skujins and Meusen chasing in the background.
Freire and McConvey are the best placed in the group, having finished in the peloton on Stage 1. They are 1'58 down on Bar. It does mean they crashed though!
The rest of the break all got dropped earlier on Stage 1 so are 3'53 down on Bar. Petrov and Astarloza stand out here as strong riders within the break.
At the first sprint only Freire and McConvey cared for it. But Astarloza rolled over 3rd, and that has lit his enthusiasm. Starting from a better position, he beats Freire to the 2nd sprint.
Having dodged the crash yesterday by being in the break, it's Ingels' turn to crash today, from the peloton. No damage is done.
And as punishment for that big crash, Selander is the only rider setting the pace in the peloton today, with Puma sat behind him. The gap is 5'48 with 63km to go.
Van Impe reckons he gan ride faster than Selander though, so attacks the peloton. Within 6km the gap he is behined the break is down to 4'21, but its going to be a long chase for him.
The 1st KoM of the day is soon upon us at 51km to go. Van Impe has now reduced the gap to 3'30 as Skujins takes the 16 points on offer for first place.
12 points for Petrov, 10 for Jacques-Maynes then points also for Haavardsholm, McConvey and Reis.
At the 2nd climb, Petrov looks to have it won before Freire nips past. This climb is worth less points than the 1st, and so 3rd is enough for Skujins to take the jersey outright.
As the peloton hit the climb. Injuries from yesterdays crash are highlighted. Look away now California Giant! Koren is dropped.
The break has split up. Astarloza and Petrov are of course in amongst it. Haavardsholm, Skujins and Jacques-Maynes aswell - plus Freire. Now singularly the best placed in the break as McConvey is gapped.
And with 28km to go, this could be developing into a great situation for Freire.
E1
Astarloza
Petrov
Freire
Haavardsholm
Skujins
Jacques-Maynes
+ 56
Reis
Maesen
McConvey
Keukeleire
+ 2'58
Van Impe
+ 4'55
Peloton
A tough 20km for Van Impe, only gaining 30 seconds. But he is at least still 2 minutes clear of the peloton. A reminder: Freire only needs just under 2 minutes, Petrov/Astarloza/etc just under 4, but if the peloton are any more than 2 minutes behind Petrov and Astarloza, then that starts to get particularly risky GC wise for them.
Puma mostly lead the chase with a little help from Rothaus and Ferrari. Tinkoff have played a masterstroke with Petrov up front, while Volkswagen dont really have the strength here with so many of their big hitters at the Giro. The gap is going down though. Break leads by 4 minutes when the peloton has 26km to go.
As well as Koren, Focused's leader Morizot also appears injured, having been dropped by the peloton.
Into the final 20km and Petrov and Astarloza go clear of the rest of the break. They are the strongest, but are hardly going to win a sprint against Freire, nor will they be any closer than 2 minutes to the leaders jersey if the Spaniard stays with them
Van Impe meanwhile, catches the 4 who were dropped from the break
16km to go. Van Impe is now over 2 minutes behind Astarloza and Petrov (who are 30 seconds ahead of Freire's group), but his gap on the peloton is down to 1'32. If he can stay clear of the pack, this could prove to be a successful move for Van Impe even if he never sees the front of the race - putting himself into GC contention.
Rothaus are now really leading the chase, as the break nears the final intermediate sprint at just over 9km to go.
Freire uses this sprint to catch Petrov and Astarloza and take the full 6 bonus seconds
Van Impe now inside 2 minutes of the front of the race, riding Keukeleire, McConvey, Maesen and Reis off his wheel.
The Pokerstars man has 9km to go. The peloton are 1 minute behind him, 3 minutes off the lead. And we're back to a far from urgent looking Puma led state.
The break will decide Stage 2 then. Van Impe is a mere green spot in the distance as Haavardsholm leads it out. Freire is the big favourite, but back in 5th wheel
With 1km to go Skujins, Freire and Jacques-Maynes all launch - catching out Petrov and Astarloza
Going head to head, Oscar Freire vs Toms Skujins. Freire's ManGame career has included 14 Vuelta stage wins, and this could be his a chance for his first win for Koppert - and perhaps last win of his career? Skujins is at the other end, first pro season, and chasing that first victory. Its neck a neck.
But experience shows, and Oscar Freire just edges it. The stage and the Yellow jersey for him, who'd have thought it?!
A very close 2nd for Skujins, with Jacques-Maynes 3rd - another in the break whose TT skills could now bode well for a GC placing. Astarloza 4th, and Petrov's sprint was so weak he could not even pass the lead out Norwegian Haavardsholm.
A blistering finish sees Van Impe take 7th at just 1 minute down. He moves into 2nd overall, 1'36 down on Freire. Its a lot, but the differences in their respective time trial skills is vast.
Keukeleire also keeps clear for 8th, before Davis leads in the peloton for 9th. The gap though is 3 minutes. A very poor final 10km for the peloton, gaining nothing on the break while Van Impe was able to gain a minute. Bar loses the race lead and is now just behind Van Impe at 1'40 down.
