Tour of the Alps 2021 – Impressive Simon Yates lays down Giro d’Italia marker with Stage 2 win

Updated 20/04/2021 at 16:59 GMT

Yates leads the general classification by 41 seconds and looks in ominous form ahead of the Giro d’Italia, which starts in less than three weeks. The Team BikeExchange rider has won La Vuelta but so far the Giro has eluded him. He came closest in 2018, when he suffered a spectacular implosion in the final week which allowed Chris Froome to soar to the title.

'Superb' - Yates cruises to impressive Stage 2 win in the Alps

Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) laid down a marker ahead of the Giro d’Italia after soloing to victory on Stage 2 at the Tour of the Alps.

The Briton moves into the overall lead of the race, ahead of defending champion Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) by 41 seconds.

Yates was in a four-man front group also containing Sivakov, Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), Hugh Carthy (EF Education–Nippo) when he attacked with 24 kilometres to go.

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The quartet survived for a few hundred metres, but Carthy and Quintana soon cracked as defending champion Sivakov clung on.

Tour of the Alps Stage 2 Highlights: Simon Yates puts on a show

Sivakov refused to take a turn on the front, perhaps in the knowledge teammate Gianni Moscon was in the leader’s jersey, but it was not long until he was distanced too.

Yates built a sizable lead on the final sections of the climb, before time trialling his way to a confidence-boosting win.

The Giro d’Italia starts on May 8.