After the second stage of the Vuelta a España, Woot van Aat took the overall lead, but at the same time regretted that Dylan van Baar was the first abandoner of the race.

Van Baar barely crossed the line in Lisbon on Saturday, finishing just two seconds behind winner Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), but he declared that he would “risk everything” in the battle for the overall lead.

The Belgian pushed hard for bonus seconds, both in the intermediate sprint and in the rugged finish of stage 2. Although he missed the bonus seconds at Acobaca with 50km to go, he finally got them at the finish in Oulem.

The six seconds Van Aert got there were more than enough to overtake Brandon McNulty and take his second Grand Tour lead after spending four days in the first week of the 2021 Tour de France.

“Of course I wanted to win this stage and the team did a really good job for a group sprint. But today was a good day because I knew that if I finished in the top three I would get the red jersey,” Van Aert said.

Van Aert, making his first appearance in the Vuelta, was adamant that he would not trade the leader's jersey for a stage win. “This week was my best chance to take the red, and there are plenty of chances for stage wins ahead of me. I've already tried two stages in the last two days and will try again. Leading the Vuelta has been a goal of my career and I'm very proud to be able to wear it.”

The sprint itself was not straightforward, with a late crash splitting the peloton in a technical and winding finish. Van Aert came close to success, but Groves proved to be the fastest. 'We knew in advance that Cadden was really fast. 'Edoardo Affini led me, but Cadden passed me.

Van Aert did not rule out a stage win in Castelo Branco on Monday. But after winning the points prize at the Tour a few years ago, he is also eyeing the maillot à punt in the Vuelta. Groves currently leads the race by seven points, but Van Aert is close behind.

Van Aert said he did not expect to keep the leader's red jersey past the first summit finish of stage 4, Pico Viluercas.

Even as Van Aert and Vimalies a Bike were celebrating, they were more than halfway through the stage watching for updates on what the race doctor called “multiple trauma,” Dylan van Baar, who crashed mid-stage and retired with 49 km to go.

Van Baar's retirement this time around has made an already very difficult year for the former Dutch national team rider. He was unable to compete in the Tour de France due to an injury sustained in a crash at the Criterium du Dauphiné, and before that, he was unable to compete in Paris-Roubaix, which he won in 2022, due to ill health.

Van Baarle, who was part of the Cousse team that won the Vuelta last year, was expected to play a key role in supporting the Americans in 2024.

“It's a big blow to start the Vuelta. Dylan was an exceptional rider and we will miss him terribly.”

Affini was confident that Cus could perform at his best without the support of van Baar. He said, “As far as the climbs go, it's up to Sepp. On the climbs, it's up to Sepp. But the whole race, and the tactics, we have to think about. 0]

Before the start of the stage, Kuss said that the early time trial was “pretty much as expected,” although he admitted that he struggled a bit with the strong gusty crosswinds. Kuss finished the first stage in 63rd place by 53 seconds, 37 seconds ahead of the important reference point, Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

“It was a bit difficult to get the bike going with the wind, but for the first day of a Grand Tour I felt good and had a lot of power. But for the first day of a Grand Tour, the feeling was good and the power was all good.

In any case, the race still has no clear guardian - and it's too early for that. Almost every team has two or three options.”

“We will see a bit more of who is where in the next mountain stages. Bora, UAE, Trek: ...... There are a lot of strong teams and it's the last Grand Tour of the season. It's the last Grand Tour of the season.

Couss lost van Baar as team support, but van Aert made it clear that he has his own goals for the Vuelta and that one of his top priorities is to secure the American to defend the overall title he won in 2023.

“My main goals going forward, in any case, are to collect points for the green, to win stages, and to support Sepp as much as possible,” Van Art said.

“I'm sure he can do it [win the overall] again, but I don't know yet. But we don't know yet. The fourth stage will reveal the difference between the GC riders.”

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