Meersman wins Vuelta stage 2

Belgian sprinter Gianni Meersman (Etixx Quick Step) won a sprint finish to claim the second stage of the Vuelta de Espana cycle race on Sunday.

Meersman was faster than Michael Scharzmann and Magnus Cort over the closing meters of the stage, but the fourth place claimed by Team Sky's Michael Kwiatkowski allows him to replace teammate Peter Kennaugh in the overall leader's red jersey.

The stage between Ourense and Baiona was one of just seven flat stages in this year's Vuelta and as such one the sprinters' teams could not afford to escape.

That meant that although a three man break was allowed to open up a gap over the main peloton, it was always kept at a safe distance so that when teams such as Etixx Quick Step and Orica Bike Exchange needed to close the gap, they were able to do so without too many difficulties, leaving themselves time to sort out their leadout trains.

Monday's third stage takes the race 174 kilometers from Marin to the Mirador de Ezaro and contains a third and a second category climb in the closing kilometers before ending up with another third category climb up to the finish line. Although it should not produce any major differences among the race favorites, it could give Alberto Contador the chance to claw back some of the 52 seconds he lost to Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana in Saturday's team time trial. Endit