South African Daryl Impey wins with late race flier while Aussie Allan Davis takes bunch sprint for second
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GreenEDGE is back to its winning ways in Spain with Daryl Impey and Allan Davis going 1-2 on the second stage of Vuelta al Pais Vasco. The South African opened up a gap as the peloton negotiated a roundabout 1.2 kilometres from the finish. He managed to hold off the charging field to take his first WorldTour win. Two bikes lengths behind, Davis won the field sprint for second.
“I didn’t come into today’s stage expecting to win,” said Impey. “We were riding for Allan. When I found myself with the gap, I decided to take it. The boys worked so well early in the race and held it all together in the sprint. It’s a massive victory — definitely the biggest moment in my career.”
“It was one of those situations where experience prevailed,” added Davis. “I didn’t want to open up my sprint early even though I had good legs. With Daryl out front, I knew we had the option of going 1-2.”
The second stage was dominated by an early break. Movistar controlled the chase in the interests of race leader Jose Joaquin Rojas. “Eventually we started to collaborate with Movistar,” said Sports Director Neil Stephens from Canberra in Australia. “We put Christian Meier and Travis Meyer on the front towards the last 50-60 kilometers. The break was caught up the last climb and then we marked the few moves that followed.”
The field was together heading into the final roundabout. “I told Daryl to go full gas when he opened the gap on the roundabout,” explained Stephens. “This put the pressure on the other teams to chase. We went through that corner really quickly, and I guess I just went a bit quicker than the rest,” added Impey.
“Sprinting involves a lot of luck, so I was happy to take a chance with the gap. I was lucky to have enough left in the tank to hold it to the line. I kept thinking the field would blow past me in the final 100 meters, but they never did.”
Behind Davis patiently bid his time before he pounced. “I waited until I felt someone try to pass me, and then I started my sprint,” Davis explained. “It was a progressive sprint instead of going explosively from the start. I wanted to give Daryl as much time as possible.”
“Straight after the line, I realized Allan had won from the bunch,” Impey added. “I still had my hands up in the air when he passed me, and I knew straight away. It was a super team effort from GreenEDGE today. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
The win has allowed Impey to leapfrog up to fourth overall. Rojas continues to lead the race with the top ten on general classification all on the same time. The remaining four stages will favor the climbers. “The next two days are really hard,” noted Davis. “We’ll look to put another GreenEDGE rider up for stage results. The climbers take over after today, so we’ll see what the next stages bring.”
Result
1. Daryl Impey GreenEdge Cycling Team 04:10:07
2. Allan Davis GreenEdge Cycling Team @same time
3. Davide Appollonio Sky Procycling @same time
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil Movistar Team @same time
5. Michael Matthews Rabobank Cycling Team @same time
6. Daniele Ratto Liquigas – Cannondale @same time
7. Francesco Gavazzi Astana Pro Team @same time
8. Fabian Wegmann Team Garmin – Barracuda @same time
9. Gianni Meersman Lotto – Belisol Team @same time
10. Daniele Pietropolli Lampre – ISD
115. Luke Rowe Sky Procycling @ 32 seconds
140. Steven Cummings BMC Racing Team
