Vuelta: Groves wins stage, Van Aert takes red jersey, Tarling avoids injury in crash | Vuelta a España

Australian Kaden Groves sprinted to victory in the second stage of the Vuelta a España on Sunday, while Wout van Aert took the red jersey of the overall leader.

Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Groves beat Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a hectic finish after a relatively calm 194km ride from the Portuguese coastal town of Cascais to Ourém. New Zealander Corbin Strong (Israel Premier Tech) came in third.

Van Aert was frustrated at failing to win a stage for the second year in a row after finishing third in the first time trial on Saturday. However, the Belgian took the red jersey thanks to six bonus seconds. “Of course I wanted to win this stage. My team did a really good job and made it a bunch sprint, so it's unfortunate to finish second. But today I knew that a top three finish would mean the red jersey. So all in all it was a good day,” Van Aert said.

Several riders were involved in a crash in the final 4 km. British rider Josh Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers was lucky to avoid serious injury when he crashed into a wall. Everyone managed to reach the finish line and lost no time.

The race became exciting on the descent of a late climb as the riders raced towards the finish at speeds of over 80 km/h. In the bunch sprint, Van Aert made the first attack, but Groves timed his effort well and took the win. It was the Australian's fifth stage win of the Vuelta.

“This is a really nice start to this Vuelta. It's been a tough year for me, I haven't had a win yet, but I came here highly motivated to change that and I have to thank my team for a really strong ride today,” said Groves.

The third stage on Monday is the last to take place in Portugal. The route takes the riders from Lousã to Castelo Branco.