Volta a Catalunya: Vernon clinches first World Tour top 5

Ethan Vernon got another opportunity to try his hand in a bunch sprint and didn’t disappoint, finishing just outside the podium on stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya, which took the peloton across the border to Perpignan for the first time in almost seven decades.
Three classified climbs and several unranked others didn’t stop the stage from coming down to a mass gallop, albeit a small one, after the crosswinds split the peloton with 20 kilometers to go. Protected by his Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl teammates, including Dries Devenyns and Pieter Serry, Ethan made it in the first group, which contested the sprint in the French city that seven centuries ago served as the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca.
Fourth on the line, the 21-year-old Brit nabbed his second top 5 of the season after the one he got at the Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré, a morale-boosting result: “We knew it was going to be windy, but the team did an awesome job. They worked hard for me and I’m grateful to them. The finish was a normal one for a bunch sprint and I was where I needed to be going under the flamme rouge, but had to hit my brakes with a several hundreds of meters to go and then had to start again, which didn’t help in the end. Still, top 5 at this level is a good result and now I’m looking forward to the next stages.”
Photo credit: ©David Ramos / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Kaden Groves Team BikeExchange - Jayco |
4:44:28 |
2 |
Phil Bauhaus Bahrain - Victorious |
0:00 |
3 |
Hugo Hofstetter Team Arkéa Samsic |
0:00 |
4 |
Ethan Vernon
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:00 |
5 |
Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides UAE Team Emirates |
0:00 |
6 |
Manuel Peñalver Aniorte Burgos-BH |
0:00 |
7 |
Michael Matthews Team BikeExchange - Jayco |
0:00 |
8 |
Steven Kruijswijk Jumbo-Visma |
0:00 |
9 |
Henri Vandenabeele Team DSM |
0:00 |
10 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:00 |
22 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:00 |
23 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:00 |
42 |
Fausto Masnada
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:00 |
47 |
Pieter Serry
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:16 |
100 |
Andrea Bagioli
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:33 |
107 |
Louis Vervaeke
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:33 |
1 |
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg Team DSM |
8:31:28 |
2 |
Michael Matthews Team BikeExchange - Jayco |
0:01 |
3 |
Hugo Hofstetter Team Arkéa Samsic |
0:07 |
4 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:11 |
5 |
Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides UAE Team Emirates |
0:11 |
6 |
Giulio Ciccone Trek - Segafredo |
0:11 |
7 |
Tobias Halland Johannessen Uno-X Pro Cycling Team |
0:11 |
8 |
Sergio Higuita García BORA - hansgrohe |
0:11 |
9 |
Jan Bakelants Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
0:11 |
10 |
Sam Oomen Jumbo-Visma |
0:11 |
16 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:11 |
28 |
Fausto Masnada
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:11 |
29 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:11 |
47 |
Andrea Bagioli
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:44 |
86 |
Pieter Serry
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
3:55 |
88 |
Louis Vervaeke
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
4:16 |
125 |
Ethan Vernon
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
17:05 |
1 |
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg Team DSM |
11 pt |
2 |
Michael Matthews Team BikeExchange - Jayco |
10 pt |
3 |
Kaden Groves Team BikeExchange - Jayco |
10 pt |
4 |
Phil Bauhaus Bahrain - Victorious |
6 pt |
5 |
Joan Bou Company Euskaltel - Euskadi |
4 pt |
6 |
Hugo Hofstetter Team Arkéa Samsic |
4 pt |
7 |
Quentin Pacher Groupama - FDJ |
4 pt |
8 |
Pieter Serry
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
4 pt |
9 |
Adrià Moreno Sala Burgos-BH |
3 pt |
10 |
Théo Delacroix Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
2 pt |
1 |
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg Team DSM |
10 pt |
2 |
Joan Bou Company Euskaltel - Euskadi |
7 pt |
3 |
Adrià Moreno Sala Burgos-BH |
4 pt |
4 |
Rohan Dennis Jumbo-Visma |
3 pt |
5 |
Alex Molenaar Burgos-BH |
3 pt |
6 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
2 pt |
7 |
Steven Kruijswijk Jumbo-Visma |
2 pt |
8 |
Bruno Armirail Groupama - FDJ |
2 pt |
9 |
Mads Würtz Schmidt Israel - Premier Tech |
1 pt |
10 |
Pieter Serry
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1 pt |
1 |
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg Team DSM |
8:31:28 |
2 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:11 |
3 |
Tobias Halland Johannessen Uno-X Pro Cycling Team |
0:11 |
4 |
Sergio Higuita García BORA - hansgrohe |
0:11 |
5 |
Juan Ayuso Pesquera UAE Team Emirates |
0:11 |
6 |
Henri Vandenabeele Team DSM |
0:11 |
7 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:11 |
8 |
Pavel Sivakov INEOS Grenadiers |
0:11 |
9 |
Anthon Charmig Uno-X Pro Cycling Team |
0:11 |
10 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
0:11 |
14 |
Andrea Bagioli
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:44 |
40 |
Ethan Vernon
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
17:05 |
1 | Bahrain - Victorious | 25:34:57 |
2 | Team Arkéa Samsic | 0:00 |
3 | UAE Team Emirates | 0:00 |
4 | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 0:00 |
5 | Trek - Segafredo | 0:00 |
6 | Jumbo-Visma | 0:00 |
7 | Uno-X Pro Cycling Team | 0:00 |
8 | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:33 |
9 | Team DSM | 0:33 |
10 | Cofidis | 0:33 |