Alejandro Valverde wins Vuelta Stage 2, Michal Kwiatkowski takes overall lead

Alejandro Valverde has won Stage 2 of the 2018 Vuelta a Espana at Caminito del Rey this afternoon to take his 10th career stage victory in his home Grand Tour on a day when pre-race favourites including BMC Racing’s Richie Porte and Bahrain-Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali.

The 38-year-old overhauled Team Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski in the closing 100 metres of the climb that concluded the 163.5-kilometre stage from Marbella.

It was a reduced group that contested the finale today and one which lacked race leader Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing, winner of yesterday’s opening time trial ahead of Kwiatkowski, who now leads the general classification.

Also missing due to the relentless pace that Team Sky, later helped by Movistar, set at the front of the group during the final 30 kilometres of the stage to reel in the day’s break and distance their rivals were Porte and Nibali.

Both men are racing the Vuelta after exiting last month’s Tour de France early through injuries sustained during crashes and were seen as among the favourites for the overall.

Nibali – like Valverde, a former winner of the race – now lies 4 minutes 44 seconds behind the Spaniard on the General Classification, his ambitions to take a second victory receiving a severe setback, while Porte, who lost almost a quarter of an hour today, is out of the running entirely.

Ahead of the final kilometre, the Quick Step Floors rider Laurens De Plus launched an attack and established a significant gap, but was unable to respond after Valverde and Kwiatkowski set off in pursuit and finished third, three seconds behind them.