Caleb Ewan wins punchy stage in Burgos marred by crashes; Hart, Caruso, and Quintana suffer heavy falls

The tumultuous first stage in central Spain resulted in a crash for Sepp Kuss. Despite this, the American was at the start of the second stage, which promised excitement. From the outset, there was significant climbing before the stage ended with a series of undulating kilometers leading to a third-category climb. This was prime terrain for the sprinters who could handle a small hill.

From the start, a group took off. The first phase included three climbs, which were tackled by Diego Sevilla (Polti-Kometa), Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Mario Aparicio (Burgos-BH), and Gorka Sorrorain (Caja Rural). Sevilla, the current mountain jersey holder, had a clear mission today. He succeeded on the first three climbs, gaining an advantage in the battle for the mountain jersey. The lead of the breakaway group grew to about three minutes.

Meanwhile, a crash in the peloton brought bad news for Visma | Lease a Bike. Ben Tulett was involved and was injured severely enough to abandon the race. The peloton used the intermediate phase to gradually close the gap with the leaders. dsm-firmenich PostNL took responsibility for this, and Visma | Lease a Bike was also active at the front.

Everything was going smoothly until, in the pre-final phase, a large part of the peloton ended up on the pavement due to a severe crash. Many notable names were caught up in it. Nairo Quintana was down, as well as Tao Geoghegan Hart, Damiano Caruso, and Valentin Paret-Peintre. The Colombian was the first to fall and took others down with him. Nearly three-quarters of the peloton was delayed by the crash, with many more riders involved. Hart and Caruso, along with a few others, were forced to abandon.

In the final stretch, Sorrorain held the longest lead of the breakaway against the chasing peloton. With five kilometers to go, he was caught, and attention shifted to the sprint up the last climb of the day. The peloton quickly caught up with him. A crash occurred in the roadside during the final kilometer. In the uphill sprint, Caleb Ewan emerged as the best. He powered up alongside the lighter riders and crossed the line first on the climb. Roger Adria finished second, and Ivan Garcia Cortina came in third.