Jonas Vingegaard stamps authority on La Vuelta with dramatic Stage 2 win as Giulio Ciccone has to settle for second on the line

Stage 2 of La Vuelta belonged to Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) as he took a very fine win in Limone Piemonte on Sunday. Vingegaard had the edge to defeat Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) in the rush for the line with David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) confined to third place. Britain's Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) had to settle for fifth place in the final dart to the finish.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) stormed to a stunning victory on Stage 2 of La Vuelta on Sunday as he seized the initiative in the final Grand Tour of the season.

The Dane had been among a dozen riders brought down by a high-speed crash on wet roads with 26km remaining.

Despite visible injuries to his elbow, he was able to power to a pulsating win, as he edged past Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) on the line, in a breathless finish to the day's racing.

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With its hockey stick shaped profile, the second stage of the Italian gran salida was always going to come down to the final climb to the ski resort of Limone Piemonte.

At least a few teams seemed to imagine the breakaway might be able to go the distance, evinced by the initial appearance of two-time Giro stage winner Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in the escape of the day. A glance around at those in his company gave him cause to change his mind, and he soon decided to return to the peloton.

That left Gal Glivar (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Liam Slock (Lotto) plus, after a 20km solo effort to join them, Burgos Burpellet BH's Sinuhe Fernandez.

The quartet was never going to be allowed much leeway, and it was Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 Pro Cycling team which tasked itself with limiting their lead, a sign of real intent from their British leader. Xabier Azparren was the rider who spent more time on the front than any other, as the breakaway was held at two-and-a-half minutes or less for the first three hours of racing.

Inside 30km, as the weather took a turn for the worse, the gap was nearer 90 seconds. As the peloton pressed along narrow, slippery roads, and negotiated tricky items of furniture, a succession of crashes interrupted what had been an easy passage to the final climb.

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First a single fall from Groupama FDJ's Guillaume Martin, sufficient to render the Frenchman the first abandon of the race, then another hit taken by Kiwi George Bennett, though the Israel-Premier Tech rider was able to continue and return to the bunch before the racing began to bubble. 26km to go saw a mult-rider pile-up off a roundabout which took down several favourites, including Pidcock and Vingegaard. Both benefitted from wet roads which reduced the friction, enabling lower injury slides.

Vingegaard's team-mate Axel Zingle looked set to retire from the race with a dislocated shoulder, but after a trip to the ambulance the Frenchman was able to resume on a replacement bike.

The breakaway arrived at the final climb with barely 30 seconds left of their advantage, the combativity prize the only realistic reward for one of them. Two attacks that proved one too many for the others secured the podium visit for Slock. The last man standing was swallowed up by the bunch 7km from the summit.

Although the red jersey of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was dispensed with before that, an almost intact peloton made it most of the way up the climb. Only its steeper, higher sections, as Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek and Ineos Grenadiers' upped the pressure, saw a real thinning of the herd.

Through the flamme rouge, 1000m from the line, the front group was still 40 riders strong as Andea Bagioli looked to set up his team-mate Giuilio Ciccone. The first real attack, however, came not from Ciccone but Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) whose pyrotechnic effort fizzled upon immediate contact with a supersoaker response from Sepp Kuss (Visma).

'Super happy' - Vingegaard reflects on Stage 2 victory

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In the final hundred metres every rider gave what they had and it looked to be Ciccone who had the most. His acceleration gave him a few bike lengths' lead metres from the line, only for Vingegaard to draw alongside and pip him to the win by no more than the width of a wheel's rim. It was only the second victory of the season for the two-time Tour de France winner, and first Grand Tour stage win in more than 12 months.

Although he and his team had not especially targeted Sunday's stage "you're not going to let it pass," Vingegaard said afterwards.

"When I see the opportunity, I'll take it," he said. It was an opportunity that, in the moment, he thought had gone "but it was a bit longer to the finish than I thought."

The victory came with the first Vuelta leader's jersey of Vingegaard's career, by four seconds from Ciccone.

Despite being disappointed with his 10th-placed stage result, Pidcock moved up to fifth in the general classification. The British rider had "no excuses" at the finish. I didn't have the legs but we committed," he said. "We'll try again another time."

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