Poels up to second in Portugal

21 Feb 2019

Poels up to second in Portugal

Related riders

Volta ao Algarve stage 2: Almodovar – Foia, 187.4km

Wout Poels put in a strong performance to finish in second place on the Alto da Foia summit finish in the Algarve.

Team Sky hit the front ahead of the final climb and proceeded to turn the screw, thinning out the bunch heading into the final kilometre. Poels launched an attack but was overhauled late on by Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates).

Crossing the line just one second behind the young Slovenian, Poels now occupies second place overall as the general classification showdown began in earnest.

The Dutchman was set up superbly by his Team Sky teammates. Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe helped bring the peloton into the final climb before Dylan van Baarle took it up on the front.
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Key moment

Tao Geoghegan Hart put in a powerful turn to splinter the lead group, bringing only a handful of riders into the final kilometre. David de la Cruz kept the tempo high as attacks began to fire on the first-category summit. The Spaniard was able to hang on to finish sixth on the day.

What’s Next?

The general classification contenders are immediately greeted with another opportunity to take time in the form of a 20.3-kilometre individual time trial. The rolling test to the south of Lagoa will be key in setting things up for the final weekend.
Stage two result:

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 4:58:25
2. Wout Poels (Team Sky) +1"
3. Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +3"
4. Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) +5"
5. Amaro Antunes (CCC Team) +7"
6. David de la Cruz (Team Sky) +21"

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 9:51:24
2. Wout Poels (Team Sky) +1"
3. Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +3"
4. Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) +5"
5. David de la Cruz (Team Sky) +21"