Stage 2 Win for Michał Kwiatkowski at Volta ao Algarve 2018

Stage two of the Volta ao Algarve 2018 goes to Team Sky’s Michał Kwiatkowski, after a well-timed sprint on the Fóia. The polish rider took the prime for the day, followed by Bauke Mollema (Trek – Segafredo) and Geraint Thomas (Sky), while last year’s winner Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) came in fourth. Team Sky will be happy with day’s result which sees Thomas jump into the lead in the overall standings on the eve of tomorrow’s time trial.

The breakaway on stage two of the Portuguese stage race was formed at around the 11 kilometre mark. The protagonists were Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-hansgrohe), Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors), Benjamin King (Team Dimension Data), John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), Marcos Jurado (Efapel), Oscar Pelegri ( Rádio Popular-Boavista) and Ricardo Mestre (W52-FC Porto), whose lead reached a maximum of 7’30” on the bunch.

The peloton kept their cool and a tight grip on the septet and left them with just 1’30” at 21 kilometers from the finish line. A brave effort from Postlberger emerged towards the end of the race with a solo attack, that was only met by King. The duo started the final climb with 43 seconds on the bunch but accellerations by a combined effort between BMC, Trek – Segafredo and Sky had them caught with 9 kilometers remaining.

With the breakaway reeled in, it was time for the big names to emerge. Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates), Simon Spilak (Katusha – Alpecin), Philippe Gilbert (QuickStep – Floors) and Vasil Kiryienka (Sky) make their moves. Among the four, Kiryienka looks best, six kilometers from the line, and tries to go the distance, while the other three are absorbed by the group. The former Time Trial World Champion put in a fantastic effort but ultimately surrendered at 2 kilometers from the finish.

All that was left was for Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) to take his first victory of the season.

Stage Result

1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky)
2 Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)
3 Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
4 Daniel Martin (UAE-Team Emirates)
5 Jaime Roson (Movistar)
6 Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 3
7 Bob Jungels (Quick Step-Floors) +3
8 Pieter Serry (Quick Step-Floors) + 3
9 Vincente Rubio (Aluminios-Metalusa) + 3
10 Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team) + 3

Overall Standings after Stage 2

1 Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
2 Jaime Roson (Movistar)
3 Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky)
4 Daniel Martin (UAE-Team Emirates)
5 Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)
6 Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 3
7 Bob Jungels (Quick Step-Floors) +3
8 Pieter Serry (Quick Step-Floors) + 3
9 Vincente Rubio (Aluminios-Metalusa) + 3
10 Louis Meintjes (Dimension Data) +3