Hutarovich stuns sprinters Stage 2 of the Vuelta
Belarussian cyclist Yauheni Hutarovich earned a surprise win in Stage 2 of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, finishing ahead of some of the very best sprinters on the UCI ProTour.
Hutarovich, riding for the Francaise des Jeux team, finished ahead of HTC-Columbia's Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Transitions to win his first ever Grand Tour-stage.
Alessandro Petacchi, the Lampre-Farnese sprinter who claimed this year's points classification in the Tour de France, finished in fourth place, completing a trio of the world's best sprinters who were all beaten by Hutarovich.
“My win may seem a surprise but this is my third grand tour and I’d come to win a stage,” Hutarovich said after the race. The 26-year-old also competed in 2008's Giro d'Italia and last year's Tour.
Unlikely sprint finish to the stage
Stage 2 stretched from Alcala de Guadaira to Marbella over 173km in pressing, 40C heat. Given the inclusion of two Category-3 climbs, some doubted that there would be a sprint finish to the stage.
But after the Atto de Ronda climb, the steep descent into Marbella provided all sprinters who survived the climbs with the perfect opportunity to showcase their talents.
Long before the climactic finish, the peloton was subject to a four-man breakaway by Mickael Buffaz, Mickael Delage, Javier Ramirez and Johnnie Walker.
The quartet built up a lead of six minutes before Cofidis rider Buffaz crashed and broke his collarbone, forcing him to withdraw from the race.
Cavendish snubbed by Hutarovich
HTC-Columbia led the peloton to catch up with the remaining trio with 12.5km to go. At that point, it looked certain that Cavendish would pounce on his teammates' delivery in characteristic fashion.
And so it seemed until the last 50m. Petacchi, led by teammate Danilo Hondo, began the sprint and was soon overtaken by Farrar. Cavendish, riding on Farrar's wheel, then overtook the American with 500m to go and looked certain to retain the overall lead in the race.
But while the Briton remained in first place overall after the stage, he was beaten to the finish line by Hutarovich in the final seconds of the race.
"I decided to follow Cavendish after being well positioned by my teammates. I stayed on his wheel and I waited for the right moment to get out," Hutarovich explained.
"When I won I couldn’t believe, but I’d seen that Cavendish was struggling and so I gave it everything and it worked out perfectly. I’m delighted for myself and for my team.”
Cavendish is trailed by teammates Kanstantin Sivstov and Peter Velits in the general classification. In eighth place, Farrar is the highest placed non-HTC-Columbia rider in the general classification.
Tags: