Britain's Matt Brennan claimed victory on stage two of the Vuelta a España, winning a bunch sprint in Manosque, France, while overall favourite Tadej Pogacar retained the red jersey.
The 20-year-old, riding in his first grand tour, was followed over the line by Pau Miquel and Pogacar after a demanding 214.3-kilometre stage featuring more than 3,000 metres of climbing from Monaco to Manosque.
Breakaway and bonus seconds
Ethan Hayter, who was edged out by Pogacar in Saturday's opening individual time-trial, was part of a four-man breakaway that led for much of the race. The peloton kept them within reach, and Hayter stayed out front to win the intermediate sprint, collecting six bonus seconds that briefly put him in contention for the red jersey.
However, Hayter could not stay with the UAE Team Emirates rider on the slight uphill finish, allowing Pogacar to hold on to the overall lead.
Late attack and sprint finish
Wout van Aert launched a move with under two kilometres remaining, with Pogacar following, but the peloton reeled them in, setting up Brennan's stage-winning sprint for Visma-Lease A Bike. Hayter was dropped and finished 31 seconds behind Pogacar, who also picked up four bonus seconds for his third-place finish.
Pogacar, a five-time Tour de France winner, is the overwhelming favourite to complete a Grand Tour career hat-trick. Only a major upset would prevent him from finishing in Granada on 13 September as the ninth rider to achieve the feat and the fourth to complete a Tour-Vuelta double in the same season.
Next stage
On Monday's third stage, the riders will cover 174 kilometres from Gruissan to Font Romeu for the race's first high-altitude finale.
