photo credits @ VaC
Dorian Godon powered to his second stage win at the Volta a Catalunya today, and continues to lead in the GC.
Godon commenced an explosive sprint after being well delivered to the line by Oscar Onley, adding to his first stage victory.
Meanwhile, a last-gasp effort from Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – Bora hansgrohe) and Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma Lease A Bike) looked as if the race had been concluded, but the peloton fought hard to chase back, making the catch in the final kilometer.
Speaking after the stage, Godon said:
“I wanted to win today again and spend another day as GC leader. Yesterday evening I was a bit angry to miss the win, so today I wanted to win again. It was not so hard at the beginning, with just six guys riding. We went a bit back and rode just at the end with Victor (Langellotti). Then it was a lot of stress and tension, so we stayed a bit more safe. In the echelon we were in quite a good position, then I saw Remco go full with Vingegaard. All the riders on the team did an amazing job to help catch them. Oscar Onley and Bob (Jungels) did a lead-out for me – it was amazing.”
Earlier, the flat 202km saw attacks from the off. With cobbles and wet weather, it was a brutal day for the peloton.
With 20km to go, the leading duo was still holding onto 23-second lead, while behind, a regrouped peloton continued its pursuit. Evenepoel led Vingegaard over the intermediate sprint at Reus, as the pair grabbed three and two bonus seconds respectively.
In the meantime, several teams were contributing to the chase, but at 10km to run, Evenepoel and Vingegaard still held a 17-second advantage.
Despite Vingegaard relenting, Evenepoel continued to power on at the front with the Dane on his wheel as their gap steadily diminished.
From there, they managed to lead the way into the final kilometer of the day, but they wouldn’t last much longer.
As they approached the final roundabout ahead of the finishing straight, Evenepoel went down, ending his chances of victory, while Vingegaard slowed in response, apparently not wanting to win thanks to his rival’s crash, leaving Godon to lead home the peloton and snatch the stage victory.
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