Pau Miquel sprinted to second place on stage two of La Vuelta a España, taking Bahrain Victorious’ first podium of the race in Manosque.

Following Saturday’s opening time trial in Monaco, the first road stage covered 214.3 kilometres from Monaco to Manosque. Bahrain Victorious stayed well positioned throughout the day, keeping its riders protected and conserving energy ahead of a finale that suited Miquel.

The race came to life in the final two kilometres when Wout van Aert attacked on the uphill approach to Manosque, with race leader Tadej Pogacar following. The pair were caught approaching the final kilometre as the reduced group prepared for the sprint.

Matevž Govekar helped position Miquel through the closing kilometres before the Spaniard produced a strong sprint to take second behind Matthew Brennan (Team Visma – Lease a Bike), with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) completing the podium.

Pau Miquel:

“To be honest, I’m happy with this second place, although not completely satisfied because we came here looking for a stage victory. But I think we made the most of our first opportunity; only Brennan was stronger today, so we’ll keep trying.

The team did a great job, really a 10 out of 10. They put me in a perfect position for the finale, so I’m happy with my sensations and I think the work was done very well. There are still many opportunities ahead, so we have to try to take every one of them.”

Sports Director Franco Pellizotti:

“After yesterday’s time trial, this was the first important stage for us and, in my opinion, the riders did a good job. They stayed in a good and safe position all day without wasting energy unnecessarily. In the final, Matevž tried to help Pau in the last kilometres because Pau was our leader for the stage and we knew it would be a hard finale.

In the end, I’m happy with the result. Second place, ahead of Pogačar and Pedersen, and behind Brennan, who is a very strong rider, especially at the moment and in this type of sprint. At the same time, I know how important it is for Pau to win a race, and of course doing it here at La Vuelta, in Spain, would be special for him. We have started in a good way, the race is long, and with this form I think the victory is very close.”