Simon Geschke is using the Vuelta al Pais Vasco to build form for his preferred races in the Ardennes. Today he had planned to sprint for the win on the second stage but as Tony Martin stayed away, it was no major disaster that bad positioning ruined his sprint.

In a sprint finish for second place on stage two of Pais Vasco, Simon Geschke has sprinted to a top 15 position.

The stage profile threatened to break things up once again but the race was quite controlled behind the day’s breakaway.

From this front group emerged Tony Martin (OPQS) as he pulled away from his fellow escapees and powered to a solo victory in Dantxarinea.

The main peloton, reduced to around 50 riders, came across the line 30 seconds later. Within this group was Geschke who finished 15th, Warren Barguil, Daan Olivier and Tom Dumoulin.

It was another strong ride from Olivier who is in his first WorldTour race and is also on the return from a broken collarbone. Races like this are selected specifically for riders like Olivier as they form important steps in his development as he gets used to racing at the highest level.

Reaction

“The guys tried to stay calm and make a move in the final as it was pretty tough but Martin was too strong,” said Team Giant-Shimano coach, Addy Engels.

“The bunch exploded in the tough run-in to the finish and we still had four guys in the front group with Simon finishing fastest. Unfortunately Georg had to pull out of the race as he was again suffering with knee problems. We didn’t want him to force through it so he stopped mid-race and will now head home to recover.”

Speaking about his goals for this race, Simon told us:

“I hope that I can use this week as a final tune-up for the classics as the form was already good coming here. Today could have been a chance for me but I got blocked in the last corner in the sprint for second.

“If I have the chance to go for a result then I will obviously go for it but I am focused on doing a good job here for the team and leaving still in good shape for the races to come.”