Vuelta stage 2 winner Gianni Meersman (Etixx-QuickStep) pulled no punches as he explained that the power vacuum in the Spanish Grand Tour’s bunch sprints provided the perfect opportunity for him to go for the victory.
A former winner of stages in WorldTour races like the Tour de Romandie, the Volta a Catalunya and Paris-Nice, Meersman has never captured a Grand Tour stage victory - until Sunday.
The 30-year-old Belgian's victory in the Vuelta a España was anything but flukey, though, well-placed on the left-hand side of the road as the peloton roared into the sweeping, slightly uphill finish in Baiona, then charging out of their slipstream to take the victory.
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The combination of the lack of top names, a very technical run-in, almost everybody having all-but-fresh legs as the Vuelta has barely started, as well as a fairly laid back first few hours of racing on the stage itself all made for an unusually tumultuous sprint finish.
But Etixx-QuickStep had their man perfectly protected and positioned when it counted in the last few kilometres, and Meersman was able to power away for the biggest victory of his career to date. Coming when he has yet to sign a contract for 2017, his win could hardly have been better timed.
"The stage in the last 20 kilometres was quite hectic. Every team had their own sprinter and they all wanted to go for a good result," Meersman said. "The last five kilometres was also very windy but we stayed calm in 10th to 15th position."
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