02 Feb 2023
Tao second in Valencia GC opener
Related riders
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana - Stage two: Stage 2 » Novelda › Alto de Pinos, 178.2km
Tao Geoghegan Hart came home in a strong second place atop Alto de Pinos as the general classification battle began at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.
The Brit finished runner up to Guilio Ciccone (Trek Segafredo), edging out Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) at the line to lay some strong foundations for the final three stages. Tao's performance was even more impressive as he hit the front with 1.8km to go and worked hard to help shut down attacks on the run-in.
Carlos Rodriguez was also up there in the lead group, finishing six seconds further back in 10th. After bonus seconds were applied Geoghegan Hart sits just four seconds back on Ciccone oversll, with Rodriguez 16 back.
Jonathan Castroviejo hit the front with 12km to go and set about tearing up the advantage of the two-man breakaway. His tempo put a number of riders into difficulty behind, thinning out the group across a superb 10km effort.
The Brit finished runner up to Guilio Ciccone (Trek Segafredo), edging out Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) at the line to lay some strong foundations for the final three stages. Tao's performance was even more impressive as he hit the front with 1.8km to go and worked hard to help shut down attacks on the run-in.
Carlos Rodriguez was also up there in the lead group, finishing six seconds further back in 10th. After bonus seconds were applied Geoghegan Hart sits just four seconds back on Ciccone oversll, with Rodriguez 16 back.
Jonathan Castroviejo hit the front with 12km to go and set about tearing up the advantage of the two-man breakaway. His tempo put a number of riders into difficulty behind, thinning out the group across a superb 10km effort.
Thursday also saw stage two at Etoile de Besseges. Once again windy echelons and crashes split up the peloton, but on the run-in the stage was forced to be neutralised due to a lack of available ambulances.
Michal Kwiatkowski was caught up on the back side of a large crash with 22km to go. Happily the Pole was able to roll to the finish along with his Grenadiers teammates but there would be no racing in the finale.
Michal Kwiatkowski was caught up on the back side of a large crash with 22km to go. Happily the Pole was able to roll to the finish along with his Grenadiers teammates but there would be no racing in the finale.
