Fight to the finish: Sebastian Molano of UAE Team Emirates (right) sprints to the finish to take second place in Stage 2 of the Vuelta Valenciana on Friday. — Photo provided
The Colombian fastman was without the head of Ryan Gibbons who was involved in a serious accident with 3.7 km to go
Sebastian Molano made a quick turn to take second place in stage 2 of the Vuelta Valenciana behind Fabio Jakobsen (Quick Step – Alpha Vinyl) on the hilly finish of the sprint from Betera to Torrent (171.5 km).
The Colombian fastman was without the lead of Ryan Gibbons who was involved in a serious accident 3.7km from the finish, but luckily the South African was able to complete the stage afterwards.
“It was a good sprint and I’m really happy and grateful for the work the guys did to get me into a good position,” Molano said.
“Unfortunately we lost Gibbons in a crash in the last few miles so we missed a man but did what we could. Jakobsen was just a bit quicker than everyone else today but the legs are very good and I hope to find a victory very soon,” he added.
After a solid performance on Thursday, Juan Ayuso moved up the general classification to 10th place overall, 1’14” behind the race leader Remco Evenepoel (Quick Step – Alpha Vinyl).
The race at Vuelta Valenciana continues with Stage 3 from Alicante to Antenas del Maigmó (155.1km) on Saturday, in what promises to be a key day for the GC.
STEP 2 RESULTS:
1. Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep – Alpha Vinyl) 4:09:51
2.Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) st
3.Elia Viviani (Quick Step – Alpha Vinyl) er
General classification after stage 2:
1.Remco Evenepoel (Quick Step – Alpha Vinyl) 8:26:13
2.Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) +19”
3.Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos-Grenadiers) +37”
10. Juan Ayuso (United Arab Emirates team) +1’14”