Vuelta a Espana 2015: Stage 2 Results, Latest Standings and Highlights

Esteban Chaves won the first individual stage of the 2015 Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, finishing just ahead of Tom Dumoulin on the legendary climb of Caminito del Rey.

The Colombian launched a smart attack on the steepest part of the climb that wore out Dumoulin and Nicolas Roche, and he did just enough to stay ahead of his two main rivals. Nairo Quintana joined the trio for a while at the front of the pack before settling into his own pace, making an early statement in his quest to win the general classification.

Chaves' win was somewhat overshadowed by a massive crash that took place some 30 kilometers from the finish line, which resulted in several top riders, including Vincenzo Nibali, losing valuable time in the standings. Here's a look at the results from Stage 2:

Pos	Rider	Time
1	Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge	3:57:25
2	Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin	0:00:01
3	Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky	0:00:09
4	Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team	0:00:14
5	Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha	0:00:26
6	Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team	0:00:26
7	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	0:00:30
8	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:31
9	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha	0:00:31
10	Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team	0:00:37

The Vuelta has never bothered with conventional wisdom when it comes to organising a Grand Tour, which explains why, instead of the traditional flat stage with a bunch sprint, organisers opted to have the peloton climbing this early in the race.

Two short―but steep―climbs were on the schedule for Sunday, including the finish at Caminito del Rey. The peloton gladly gave an early break of six riders plenty of space to work with, knowing full well they'd be able to chase them down inside the final kilometers.

Little happened early in the stage, with all of the favourites cruising and some of the lesser teams doing the dirty work in the peloton. Cycling writer Mikkel Conde noted the most interesting incident took place outside of the peloton―a number of team buses stole the show instead:

But the feel of the stage changed completely with 30 kilometers left to race. A massive crash decimated the peloton, with several of the top riders falling victim. The likes of Nibali and Peter Sagan all hit the asphalt, as reported by the Inner Ring.

It's unclear how the crash happened exactly, but several riders went down at the front of the pack, and the favourites coming up behind them had nowhere to go. David Tanner and Przemyslaw Niemiec both spent minutes lying on the asphalt, and the former required a neck brace and spinal board to make his way to the ambulance.

VeloVoices was concerned for his well-being:

To watch footage of the devastating crash, click here (Warning: Graphic images). 

Team Katusha, Team Sky and Team Movistar showed little sportsmanship and immediately increased the tempo, forcing Nibali, Sagan and a bloodied Paolo Tiralongo, one of Fabio Aru's top domestiques, to burn a lot of energy in the chase.

Fabian Cancellara was one of many who couldn't keep up with the pace, suffering heartbreak due to a crash for the second time in the span of just a few months. The Swiss star previously lost the yellow jersey after a crash in the Tour de France.

Nibali managed to close the gap with 10 kilometers left to go, just as the front of the peloton caught up with the early break. As shared by Velocast's Scott O'Raw, the Italian did receive some help:

Movistar now moved to the front, with Quintana sitting pretty at the top of the peloton, while Geraint Thomas set the pace for Sky. 

Cyril Gautier was the first to launch an attack, and Quintana countered on the toughest section, immediately making his intentions for this Vuelta clear. The Colombian finished the Tour de France in strong form and seems determined to put pressure on his opponents early.

Roche, Dumoulin and Louis Meintjes followed Quintana, creating a small gap with the peloton. The Sun's Alex Terrell noticed Chris Froome didn't seem all that concerned:

Chaves launched a massive attack toward the end of the climb, dropping Quintana as Dumoulin and Roche struggled to keep his wheel. Roche seemed to be struggling in particular but somehow found the strength to launch an attack of his own, and this time, it was Dumoulin who cracked.

The Dutchman recovered, however, catching Roche just as Chaves jumped again. Dumoulin did everything he could and came close to overtaking the Colombian, but Chaves did just enough to hold on for the win. 

As reported by CyclingNews.com's live blog of the stage, Chaves was understandably happy with his win:

"

I felt that this was my moment to do it for the team, I felt like I was in a god position and in the end I did it and I got this jersey.

We talked among ourselves and how to deal with everyone around us and the main thing to do was to attack these guys so that’s what we did. Roche and Dumoulin were good company and we got there in the end.

At this point I’ve just got to keep going and be happy about this day and think about tomorrow. The team was incredible, my teammates did a good job.

"

In the background, Nibali struggled tremendously during the climb, losing valuable time on Quintana and Froome. He wasn't the only one, per the Inner Ring:

Here's the general classification after Stage 2, courtesy of Sky Sports Cycling:

Ultimately, Froome lost little time on Quintana, although the Colombian certainly won the first mental battle. Alejandro Valverde and Aru also won't be overly excited with their first individual performances.

Monday's stage features several more climbs early and a difficult ascent toward Malaga, giving hope to both the sprinters and adventurous riders looking for a late break. Sagan should love the profile of this stage, providing he recovers well from the crash he suffered on Sunday.

Look for the sprint teams to try and control the pace inside the final 20 kilometers, with the final climb and descent looking like the best spot for a breakaway to find success. With a lack of typical sprint finishes looming on the schedule, don't expect the sprint teams to drop the ball on this one.

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