Volta a Catalunya 2014 - Stage 2

The 2014 edition of the Volta a Catalunya continued on Tuesday with a 171.2 kilometre race from Mataro to Girona, the hotbed of European cycling. The route wasn't as hard as Monday's stage, and again favoured a punchy sprinter. Tipped for the win were Monday's winner Luka Mezgec, along with the runner up from stage one Leigh Howard.

A strong breakaway tried their hand; Maxim Belkov, winner of a stage of the Giro d'Italia last year, was joined by Tour de France maverick Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Jerome Baugnies (Wanty-Groupe Goubert), Michel Koch (Cannondale), Tomasz Marczynski and Marek Rutkiewicz (both of CCC Polsat). They were closely marshalled throughout the stage, never really gaining a significant lead.

Richie Porte was having a horrendous day in the peloton, again suffering with the illness that plagued him at Tirreno-Adriatico. Christopher Froome would now be without his key domestique for the rest of the race, and it was hardly the ideal preparation Porte had been hoping for before May's Giro d'Italia. The breakaway were getting close to the peloton when Jerome Baugnies tried his hand, but it was Voeckler's counter-attack which stuck.

He gained nearly a minute on the peloton before they realised the danger, and Trek, Tinkoff-Saxo and Giant-Shimano were some of the teams putting up the chase. It did look for a while as if the Frenchman was going to make it, but with five kilometres to go, with the gap tumbling, he called it quits, and the peloton got itself organised for a second bunch sprint in as many days.

Leigh Howard was well positioned at the head of the peloton, and he was battling with the likes of Ferrari and Alaphillipe, when on the right of the road Luka Mezgec came storming past, taking his second stage win. Roberto Ferrari came second, and fellow Italian Daniele Ratto was third. Mezgec consolidated his lead in the leader's jersey, but was unlikely to hold on to it as the race hit the mountains on stage three.