'We must have been going 80km/h plus' - Ethan Vernon holds off Matthew Brennan to win stage 2 of Volta a Catalunya

The Brits continued to pay homage to Catalonia on Tuesday, as Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) outsprinted Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) to win his first race of the season.

Vernon, who earned his first professional win at the Volta a Catalunya in 2022, was the fastest in Figueres on stage two, holding off the opening day's teenage winner.

The finale played out on fast, wide roads, with Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) leading the sprint around a right-bending finishing straight. Vernon then came around the outside, stretching out an advantage and winning by a wheel's length.

“I’m starting to like this race. It’s bringing some good memories,” the 24-year-old smiled afterwards.

“We came with momentum about 2km to go, with a full train, and we set up perfectly for the end. It was really chaotic. I think we must have been going 80km/h plus at the end there. With the tailwind, it was super-fast. In the end, it suited me.”

Vernon appeared to be in difficulty halfway through the 180km stage, which, although billed as a sprint day, still counted almost 2,000m of climbing. The peloton had two climbs to traverse, including the category-one Coll de Sant Pere de Rodes (7.7km at 6.3%).

“It wasn’t an easy day,” the Brit said. “I think [Lidl-]Trek and some other teams made it hard on the climb, so I suffered a bit then. But I came back, thanks to the job of Itamar [Einhorn], my teammate, who brought me back in a good condition.”

Despite the presence of Groves, a seven-time Vuelta a España stage winner, Brennan was the favourite going into the sprint after his heroics on stage one. The 19-year-old claimed a spectacular maiden WorldTour victory on Monday, when he closed the gap to a lone escapee and held off the peloton on an uphill drag.

Brennan’s victory marked four wins in a row for the Visma-Lease a Bike neo pro. Second place on stage two meant he extended his race lead by two seconds; he now leads Groves by six seconds.

Wednesday’s third stage at the Volta a Catalunya brings a mountain day with the race’s first summit finish, atop La Molina. It is, on paper, the toughest of the seven stages, with almost 5,000m to climb.