Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the sprint in the second stage of the Tour of Catalonia, leading a peloton of strong men including the leader of the FDJ team Kenny Elissonde and his young team-mate Olivier Le Gac.

It was bad weather all day in Catalonia, a cold rain falling on the riders throughout the day. Behind four escapees Grmay (Lampre-Merida), Mas (Caja Rural), Bewley (Orica-GreenEdge) and Stamsnijder (Giant-Alpecin), the pack did not make the same mistake as the day before and did never let up. The leaders were caught 20 kilometers from the finish and before the ultimate challenge overlooking the small town of Olot.

"Kevin Reza found himself behind at a bad time," explains FDJ sports director Thierry Bricaud. "He stopped for a natural break 30 kilometers from the finish, supoorted by Jussi Veikkanen but that's when the peloton began to ride hard. Riders were left behind, the commissaires ordered the convoy to stay behind and Kevin was unable to find his place quickly. He did get back to the front on the climb and was again trapped behind riders who were dropped."

This left the team without an opportunity to achieve a result.

Fortunately, Kenny Elissonde confirmed the impression left on Monday in the first stage and remained with the best due to the support of Olivier Le Gac. Pierre-Henri Lecuisiner, shivering from cold, fell behind before the summit of the last climb.

"For Wednesday, we have a hopeful Kevin Reza although the stage around Girona is not simple and we expect that the riders from Cannondale-Garmin will attack," Bricaud says.