It was a dramatic finale for stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya, as a three-up sprint saw Giulio Ciccone beat Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel in the summit finish to Vallter 2000.
A tough day on the bike, and one incredibly important for the overall classification. Most of the stage was rather flat, with a group of eight going up the road: Simone Petille (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost), Vadim Pronskiy (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Julen Amezqueta (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Ewen Costiou (Arkéa Samsic), Chris Juul-Jensen (Team Jayco AlUla) and Francisco Galván (Equipo Kern Pharma).
The gap kept by the front group was still of several minutes entering the final kilometers of the stage, but as soon as the riders started to slowly climb to Vallter 2000 it became evident how much they had put into it. One by one they quickly cracked, with Simon Carr eventually being the final survivor, he was eventually caught with 7 kilometers to go.
João Almeida suffered a mechanical at the base of the climb, after Bahrain - Victorious picked up the pace. There was ambition from Bahrain to take up the race as the group was quickly reduced to the big favourites on the day and only a few more. With 6.2 kilometers to go Esteban Chaves launched an attack in traditional form, Sepp Kuss was the only rider trying to follow, but unsuccessfully.
Chaves carried a 30-second gap into the tough final 2.5 kilometers. The work of Bahrain culminated with just over 3 to go, with Ilan van Wilder putting his nose to the wind for Remco Evenepoel. The true GC battle began with 2 kilometers to go as Mikel Landa launched an attack, counter-attacked by Evenepoel himself who then took up the pace. Evenepoel essentially gave a free rider as he kept pacing the group into the final meters, reeling in Chaves with 500 meters to go.
The World Champion did himself over, leading out the survivors of his pace until the final straight. Giulio Ciccone launched his sprint powerfully and took a very strong win, outsprinting Primoz Roglic - who defended his race lead - and Evenepoel.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Giulio Ciccone WINS on Vallter 2000 against Roglic and Evenepoel, the most impressive victory of his career. INSANE! #VoltaCatalunya102
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