Stage 2: Ourense › Baiona – 160.8km
After the TTT opener, the Vuelta continues with a stagehunter-friendly Stage 2. Given the less-than-challenging profile, it seems likely that the day could go to the sprinters, but a small late climb, even an uncategorized one, could inspire a few late aggressors.
Even if it does come down to a bunch kick, this is a remarkably difficult stage to predict—Grand Tour sprint stages aren’t often as wide open as this Vuelta’s will be, but without any marquee speedsters on the startlist, the door is open for normally-fringe contenders to make their mark.
Nikias Arndt is a good a bet as any in a mass sprint. He’s at least as fast in a pure sprint as anyone on the startlist. If it comes down to that, he’ll be tough to beat.
Gianni Meersman hasn’t shown quite the same level of speed recently as he did in a four-WorldTour-win 2013 season, but I like his chances for this stage with the late climb. He doesn’t mind a late climb. Even in a typical bunch sprint he’s a danger, but he’ll be all the more favored if the peloton is at all whittled down by the time the riders hit the finishing straight.
The same is true for Niccolo Bonifazio. The Trek rider runs hot and cold, but when he’s hot he can deliver big-time.
Kristian Sbaragli and Tyler Farrar are others to watch in a bunch sprint. Fabio Felline, Philippe Gilbert, Magnus Cort, Jean-Pierre Drucker, and Simon Gerrans are potential protagonists if things get a bit more interesting in the finale.
VeloHuman Stage 2 Favorites
1. Gianni Meersman | 2. Nikias Arndt | 3. Niccolo Bonifazio