Cycling
Tour of Catalonia: Pogacar wins mountain finish
Won the second stage of the Tour of Catalonia: Tadej Pogacar. photo
© Roth/dpa
Tadej Pogacar has once again outpaced the competition. Even rain and cold can’t stop him in Catalonia.
The 25-year-old Slovenian won the second stage over 186.5 kilometers from Mataro to Vallter 2000 with a clear lead over the Spaniard Mikel Landa. The day before, Pogacar had missed out on winning the stage just behind the Australian Nick Schultz.
Halfway through the final climb, which is 11.4 kilometers long and has an average steepness of 7.4 percent, Pogacar broke away from the group of favorites and quickly increased his lead. At an altitude of 2,135 meters he finally celebrated his 65th professional victory. Landa won the sprint for second place, a good 80 seconds behind, ahead of the Russian Alexander Vlasov from the German Bora-hansgrohe team.
Pogacar, who narrowly missed his first victory in the classic Milan-San Remo on Saturday, is using the Tour of Catalonia as preparation for the Giro d’Italia. The next mountain arrival in Port Ainé follows on Wednesday. The multi-stage race ends on Sunday in Barcelona.