Groves misses out on back-to-back Vuelta stage win

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Groves misses out on back-to-back Vuelta stage win

Kaden Groves has been narrowly beaten to a second successive stage win in the Vuelta a Espana with race leader Wout van Aert avenging the ***********’s second stage success.

The Belgian (Visma-Lease a Bike) was pipped to the line by Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on Sunday, but he reversed the standings on Monday, also ensuring he held on to the leader’s jersey.

As the stage reached a climax Van Aert latched on to Groves’ wheel enabling him to get the jump on the Groves as the pair went for the line.

“I think I surprised him to go even before 200 metres. It was the perfect sprint for me,” Van Aert said.

Spain’s Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Euskaltel-Euskadi) finished third in the bunch sprint after a 191.2 km ride from Lousa to Castelo Branco.

Van Aert increased his overall lead to 13 seconds over ********* first stage winner Brandon McNulty (UAE-Team Emirates) thanks to the 10-second bonus for winning the stage.

McNulty’s teammate Jay Vine, in 13th, 37 seconds down, is the best-placed *********** in the general classification.

Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who clocked up his first win of the year on Sunday, is second to Van Aert in the points race.

The early part of the stage was dominated by a four-man breakaway group, which included Luis Angel Mate, the oldest rider in the race at 40, but it was his Euskaltel-Euskadi colleague Xabier Isasa who held out the longest.

He was finally reeled in with 20 kilometres left to ride, and the expected sprint finish was set up. With precious few sprint stages ahead in the Vuelta, Van Aert pulled out all the stops to ensure he was not denied for a second successive stage.

Tuesday’s stage four brings the race to Spain after the opening ******* in Portugal, with a 170.5 km mountain stage from Plasencia to Pico Villuercas.

“Unfortunately the fun is over, tomorrow I’ll be happy to give the role of team leader over to Sepp (Kuss) and Cian (Uijtdebroeks),” Van Aert added.

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