O Gran Camino

The second stage of O Gran Camino was up and down the entire day, the hilly terrain between Marin and A Estrada being perfect for a breakaway to try their luck and see if they could hold off the peloton. Surprisingly, only three men went clear at the start of the day, making it easy for the field to keep the gap in check before reeling them in inside 20 kilometers to go.

Around 12 kilometers from the finish, a group featuring Mauri Vansevenant zipped clear on a quite steep uphill part and quickly took their margin to 16 seconds. Despite the sextet taking turns at the front and pushing hard, they were overhauled by the chasers with just eight kilometers to go.

It came down to a reduced bunch sprint in the end, where Thomas Pesenti – after surfing wheels in the last 500 meters – sprinted to a nice fourth place behind winner Magnus Cort (Uno X-Mobility). This elevated the 25-year-old Italian to the same position on the general classification going into Friday’s demanding individual time trial to Pereiro de Aguiar, a small town in the province of Ourense.

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