Volta a Catalunya 2021 - Rohan Dennis wins Stage 2 time trial as Joao Almeida takes overall lead

Rohan Dennis produced an excellent performance to win the individual time trial on Stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya, while Joao Almeida took overall lead of the race.

With Dennis winning the stage in 22:27, Ineos Grenadiers had four riders inside the top 10, with Richie Porte in sixth, Adam Yates in seventh and Geraint Thomas in 10th.

But it was Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Almeida who took the race lead after coming home in third place, finishing the 18.5km stage 28 seconds behind Dennis and 23 behind team-mate Remi Cavagna.

Stage 1 winner Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal) was last out of the blocks and finished in 74th place.

"It's been a long time between drinks, if I'm completely honest with you," said Australian Dennis. "It's been a tough little road but it's really great to be back on the top step. It's amazing - the team has always supported me and believed that I can be back on that top step. It's just amazing to be back.

"It means a lot. It's my first victory with Ineos Grenadiers and my first victory since Yorkshire Worlds. Look, it's been a pretty tough year-and-a-half of second or third places, or even out of the top 10 sometimes. It's not been easy with all these young guys, so I'm making the most of this win. I train on these roads a lot and I had a lot of friends out there to cheer me on, so it's great to do it in front of them."

Sir Bradley Wiggins had said he expected Ineos to “do something big” at the Volta a Catalunya, and they enjoyed an impressive day as several riders placed around the top of the standings.

Two-time world time trial champion Dennis was the fastest of the lot as he took the overall stage honours with a strong ride.

Yates and Porte were just over 30 seconds behind Dennis while Thomas finished 47 seconds back and Deceuninck-QuickStep also had Josef Cerny in eighth.