Four Tinkoff-Saxo riders including GC captain Rafal Majka were involved in the big crash on stage 2 of La Vuelta. With the bunch going into the undulating stage finale at speed, the pile up meant that Rafal Majka had to expend energy backed by his remaining teammates to bridge up to the diminishing group of favorites. Esteban Chaves took the win, while Majka finished 22nd.

“We had some bad luck today. I went down together with Brutt, Bennati and Sagan, when the big crash happened. I was able to get going rather quickly and I stayed in the second group until we came back with 14 kilometers to go. Together with my teammates, I had to spend energy to get back. Still I’m happy because I escaped almost unharmed from the crash and I didn’t lose big amounts of time”, says Rafal Majka after finishing 22nd, 1’04” behind stage winner Chaves.

“I was not super on the last steep climb but it’s my first race after the Tour and it’s definitely not easy with a finish like this after one month without racing. I’ve been at altitude and I’ve been training a lot, but it’s impossible to simulate these situations so I look forward to getting back to race speed during the coming days”, adds Majka.

Stage 2 of La Vuelta a España took the riders 158.7km to the finish at Caminito del Rey, where the favorites and those gunning for a stage win had to cope with a short but steep final climb. Tristan Hoffman, team sports director, notes:

“The status after today is that we had four guys involved in the crash. Mainly Pavel Brutt, Peter Sagan and Daniele Bennati, while also Rafal Majka, our leader, crashed. Rafal was, however, able to get back on the bike and continue faster than the others, as they had to wait for new bikes. The injuries are not bad, they have some bruises and Rafal has a wound on his knee, but we are not worried. Of course, Rafal had to fight to get back to the main group up front and he had the support from the rest of the squad”.

“Unfortunately, he lost some time on some of the favorites, while Chaves, Roche and Dumoulin were further up the road. I think it was a combination of the crash and the fact that Rafal still needs some days to adjust after a race break since the Tour. Overall, it was not super and it was not bad. We believe that Rafal will get better and better, as the race progresses and we aim to have him at a level, where he will be competitive against the other favorites”, finishes Tristan Hoffman.