Lotto Dstny rider Andreas Kron took an emotional stage win at the 2023 Vuelta a Espana. In a soaking wet stage starting in Mataro and finishing in Barcelona, the time for the general classification was recorded nine kilometres before the finish due to safety reasons. Afterwards, the battle for the stage win commenced and Lotto Dstny made its ambitions clear. It was Andreas Kron who placed a fierce attack on the steep slopes towards Montjuic, pushed all the way to the finish and soloed to victory.
Crossing the finish line, Kron pointed to the sky as the Dane dedicated his first stage win in a Grand Tour to teammate Tijl De Decker, who lost his life last Friday after suffering the consequences of a collision on training. “The bad weather conditions made for a difficult and dangerous day on the bike but already this morning I believed in this victory. With the wet roads and also the neutralisation, there would be chances and personally I have worked tremendously hard towards this Vuelta. I had to miss out on the Tour and to come back at this level, with a first stage win in a Grand Tour, means a lot to me. I always said I would dedicate my first win in a Grand Tour to my late mother, but the team is going through a very difficult period at the moment, so I would really like to dedicate this win to Tijl De Decker. My mum will have to wait a bit more, but that second win will hopefully come soon,” Kron reacted.
Team Jayco AlUla bounced back from a tough opening stage of La Vuelta a España as Italian Matteo Sobrero climbed into the lead of the Best Climber classification on stage two.
With another wet stage on the cards Sobrero forced an early breakaway to go clear with the hope that a large group could make it all the way to the finish line in Barcelona to contest for the victory. However, with little chance for the five eventual escapees, the 26-year-old quickly changed his game plan and went on the hunt for mountains classification points.
“This morning we knew that with the weather and with the slippery roads, it would not be a bad idea to go in the break,” said Sobrero at the finish. “I tried to go in the break in the beginning but I was hoping for a bigger break, I thought that there was a chance to get to the finish with a bigger break, but in the end we were just five guys.
Then I was thinking maybe we can’t get to the final, so I thought I will try for the mountain jersey, because I thought, why not? In the end it was a good result for today and it’s nice to have the jersey in the team, but I was hoping to go for a stage win.”
Stage 2 Brief Results:
- Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny) at 4h10’25”
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) s.t.
- Andrea Vendrame (AG2R Citroën Team) s.t.
- Andrea Bagioli (Soudal – Quick Step) s.t
- Fernando Barcelo (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 2
- Andreas Kron (LTD) DEN 4:10’06”
- Kaden Groves (ADC) AUS +0″
- Andrea Vendrame (ACT) ITA +0″
- Andrea Bagioli (SOQ) ITA +0″
- Fernando Barcelo (CJR) ESP +0″
- Ivan Garcia (MOV) ESP +0″
- Romain Gregoire (GFC) FRA +0″
- Lennert Van Eetvelt (LTD) BEL +0″
- Marijn van den Berg (EFE) NED +0″
- Kobe Goossens (ICW) BEL +0″
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