Tour Of The Basque Country 2014 - Stage 2

The 2014 edition of the Tour Of The Basque Country continued yesterday with a still difficult but easier stage than the first. The race was 155.8 kilometres from Ordizia to Dantxarinea, and it had a flat finish, meaning men such as Ben Swift of Sky and Michael Matthews of Orica-GreenEDGE were race favourites. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) started the day in the leader's jersey.

The breakaway went clear in the first twenty kilometres of racing, and contained some big names. World Time Trial champion Tony Martin was present, along with his Omega Pharma-Quickstep teammate Jan Bakelants. Also there was Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), Bob Jungels (Trek Factory Racing), Maxime Monfort (Lotto-Belisol) and Davide Malacarne (Europcar).

Tinkoff-Saxo were keen to ensure that the lead didn't get too dangerous, but they also didn't seem too keen to bring the move all the way back, which might have prompted attacks from the likes of Valverde and Nieve. Abandons overnight included Carlos Betancur and Tom Danielson, both of whom it was assumed had retired due to illness.

With twenty kilometres to go, Tony Martin lifted the pace in his familiar solid riding style, and only Izagirre from Movistar and Martin's teammate Bakelants could follow the pace. They soon unhitched the rest of the breakaway, and took their lead over the peloton over a minute once again. Sky and Orica-GreenEDGE particularly began to marshall the front of the race for their quick men.

Bakelants was the first to attack from the lead group, forcing Izagirre to do the chasing. Once he was brought back, Martin jumped over the top, and this time Izagirre could not bring it back. Martin descended into the finish with a lead over the peloton, and would win the stage alone. Back in the main pack, Alejandro Valverde used the climbs to test the resolve of Contador, but the race leader was unmoved.

Ben Swift led the peloton home in second position, and Contador finished safely in the main group to maintain his fourteen second lead over Valverde. Tony Martin will be happy he has taken his first victory of the season, and will look to add number two to the list in the long time trial later in the race.