Luis Leon Sanchez claims the first summit finish of the Volta ao Algarve
Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) claimed the first summit finish of the Volta ao Algarve, powering to the top of the Alto da Foia to take the race lead ahead of Geraint Thomas (Sky) and Slovenian Primoz Roglic (LottoNl-Jumbo).
Sanchez proved his good form by taking second overall at the Volta a la Valenciana and he was also fourth in the Vuelta a Murcia. This made him one to watch in this week’s Volta ao Algarve but in a star-studded field he had still flown a bit under the radar.
Today he proved that he is a very strong contender for overall victory as he managed to win the first mountaintop finish of the five-day race. With a powerful sprint on the climb of Alto da Foia, he took his first win in Astana colours and moved to the top spot of the overall standings.
The expected fireworks from Alberto Contador never materialised. While the Tinkoff team took control for much of the stage, and Contador led a select group over the top of the penultimate climb, he could not follow the accelerations on the final ascent and finished a distant 24 seconds behind in 21st place. Fabio Aru (Astana) fared slightly better in 10th at 15 seconds.
Volta ao Algarve 2016 – stage 2 results (Lagoa – Alto da Fóia):
| 1 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) | 5:08:25 |
| 2 | Geraint Thomas (Sky) |
+01” |
| 3 | Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) |
+03” |
| 4 | Jon Izaguirre (Movistar) |
,, |
| 5 | Tiago Machado (Katusha) |
+05” |
| 6 | Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) |
+06” |
| 7 | Manuel Antunes Amaro (LA Aluminions-Anarte) |
+09” |
| 8 | Hector Saez (Caja Rural) |
+13” |
| 9 | Tiesj Bennot (Lotto Soudal) |
+14” |
| 10 | Fabio Aru (Astana) | +15” |
