Vuelta a Espana 2016: Stage 2 Results, Latest Standings and Highlights

Gianni Meersman of Etixx-Quick-Step won Stage 2 of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, the first individual stage of this year's race, in a bunch sprint.

The Belgian finished off some excellent work from his team-mates, cruising to the finish line after a great lead-out. Team Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski is the new leader.

Here's a look at the results from Stage 2:

Pos.	Rider	Time
1	Gianni Meersman (Etixx-Quick-Step)	4:16:39
2	Michael Schwarzmann (Bora-Argon 18)	Same Time
3	Magnus Cort (Orica-BikeExchange)	st.
4	Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky)	st.
5	Jonas Van Genechten (IAM)	st.

Here is the general classification, via Cycling Hub:

Recap

Sunday's stage had a relatively flat profile, with one categorised climb in the middle of the race and another bump that could have caused some late drama near the finish line.

All signs pointed toward a bunch sprint, however, but as cycling writer Ned Boulting shared, the top sprinters had failed to show up:

Three riders tried their luck early, with Cesare Benedetti of Bora-Argon, Laurent Pichon of FDJ and Bryan Naulleau of Direct Energie building a small lead over the peloton. The top riders were happy to let the three ride for a while, knowing they'd catch them once they conquered the categorised climb.

Tinkoff's Alberto Contador spent the bulk of the day in the front of the peloton, as did Sky's Chris Froome. Warren Barguil of Giant-Alpecin was comfortable at the back, and given the slow pace of the race, there were few risks involved with the tactic.

CESAR MANSO/Getty Images

Pichon won the sprint for the mountain points and ensured he'd wear the polka-dot jersey on Monday, but the group's battle to the summit took its toll, as the peloton reduced the gap to two minutes.

The lead kept dropping, and before long, BMC's Philippe Gilbert launched an attack from the peloton, hoping to bridge the gap on his own. Giant-Alpecin and Movistar took control of the peloton, but they couldn't catch the group before they crossed the intermediate sprint, which allowed the Belgian to steal three bonus seconds on the overall leader.

The peloton caught the leaders just before the final climb, and Katusha's Tiago Machado attacked as soon as the road started to rise. A small group tried to catch the Portuguese rider, but Tinkoff kept the pace high, and a sprint seemed likely.

CESAR MANSO/Getty Images

Sky took over to keep Froome and Peter Kennaugh out of trouble, and the sprint teams started to prepare their lead-out trains as well. Dimension Data put in a huge shift before Etixx took over, leading Meersman out perfectly for the win. 

Per Alasdair Fotheringham of Cycling News, Meersman explained how the race played out for his team:

"

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. The last five kilometres was also very windy but we stayed calm in 10th to 15th position.

Then with 800 metres to go [team-mate Zdenek] Stybar was pulling and I still had Yves Lampaert in front of me with 400 metres to go. He started his lead out and with 200 metres to go I launched my sprint.

Luckily today, it all worked out exactly as we had planned.

"

Stage 3 will see the first uphill finish of this year's Vuelta, as the favourites will get to show their form on the short climb of Mirador de Ezaro. It's not particularly steep or long and should suit the more powerful climbers such as Alejandro Valverde of Movistar, but expect the favourites to be in the mix as well.

The Vuelta cares little for tradition and will force the peloton out of the saddle a lot in the opening week, as Tuesday's stage will also finish uphill.