Maxim Belkov (Katusha) again showed off the aggressive mindset that earned him a stage win in last year's Giro d'Italia. In similarly bad weather conditions to his magnificent ride into Florence, the Russian took off with five other riders but this time there was no glory for the strong Russian.

It started out as a sunny day in Mataró for Tuesday’s stage 2 in La Volta, but the weather quickly deteriorated and the riders had to deal with rain and cold for most of the day. The weather didn’t hinder the effort from Maxim Belkov, who made the early break for a long day out front.

“It was a hard day in the front and the rain in the last 30K made it extra hard, but that’s part of the job," he said. "I went in the break because when you try nothing, you cannot win.  The peloton never gave us much time, so we knew it would be hard to stay away until the end. 

"In the front we kept a good regular rhythm and in the descent of the Santa Pellana, I tried something. It was a technical descent and I played my cards. It was also a test for myself to see how good my downhill skills are. I got away alone, but then I had to fight against a strong headwind and it was over and out."

Race leader Luka Mezgec (Giant-Shimano) took his second sprint victory in as many days and widened his lead in the overall classification.  Contesting the sprint for second and third were Roberto Ferrari (Lampre) and Daniele Ratto of Cannondale.

From the early kilometers of racing Belkov and five others formed the break of the day as the group began the 168km stage. While the peloton didn’t let them develop much more than a two-minute advantage, they were left to ride in the front and worked well together during the stage. 

Breakaway companion Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) attacked his group near 25km to go, but was brought back with 5 km to go and it was game on for the sprinters.  Some chaos followed in the right and left turns before the finish line, but Mezgec timed his effort to perfection and won the stage. Maxim Belkov is now 11th in GC.

Wednesday’s stage is the first of two in the high mountains and hopefully the weather will cooperate to avoid snow at the upper elevations. Stage 3 is from Banyoles to La Molina at 162.9km.  The route includes a category 1 and HC climb before the uphill finish at 1725m.

You can read our preview of stage three here and follow our live coverage at 15.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.