(Reuters) – Andreas Kron of Lotto Dstny won the second stage of the Vuelta a Espana, a 181.3 kilometre ride from Mataro to Barcelona on Sunday, pointing to the sky in celebration to pay tribute to late team mate Tijl De Decker.
Belgian rider De Decker died earlier this week as a result of severe injuries he sustained after crashing into the back of a car during training.
In tough conditions, Denmark’s Kron made his move with three km to go, crossing the finish line seven seconds ahead of a group of pursuers. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Andrea Vendrame (AG2R Citroen) were second and third.
Saturday’s first stage was affected by rain and there was no respite on the second stage either, with weather protocol coming into play and times for the general classification being taken 9 kilometres from the finish line.
However, the bonuses on the Montjuic climb were still applied.
Defending champion Remco Evenepoel suffered an early puncture, one of many on a descent, that dropped him back and the Belgian had to toil to rejoin the peloton.
Three-times winner Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas also crashed as the weather got worse but they made their way back into the peloton.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
