Hola and welcome to live coverage of Stage 2 of the Vuelta a Espana - a hilly 199.6km schlep from Benidorm to Calpe which features three categorised climbs ahead of a flat finish. It remains to be seen if the sprinters can hold on to contest the spoils or if a break will go the distance.

In fact, the only way Armee can deny Madrazo the polka dot jersey today is if the Belgian takes maximum points over the summit of the final climb with the Spaniard failing to get any.

Confirmation that it was Madrazo who took the maximum 3pts over the summit of the Alto de Benilloba. The Spaniard is on track to wear the race's first blue polka dot jersey.

Armee may have won a stage on the Vuelta but that's the 33-year-old's only pro win. Smit and Lastra are winless, while Madrazo has two scalps to his name - stage 4 of the Etoile de Bessegres in 2016 and the little-known Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika race in 2015, where he beat Ion Izagirre and Amets Txurruka in a three-up sprint.

This is 26-year-old Willie Smit's maiden Grand Tour for Katusha. Lastra, also 26, is riding his second Vuelta - he rode last year, with his highest finish being eighth. Fellow Spaniard Madrazo is riding his fourth Vuelta. His first was for Movistar in 2011 then he rode two for Caja Rural in 2015 and 2016. His highest stage placing is 7th from his first appearance.

Here's how Armee won that stage two years ago.

One of the four leaders is a stage winner on the Vuelta: Sander Armee won Stage 18 of the 2017 Vuelta after dropping Alexey Lutsenko on the final rise to Santo Toribio de Liebana.

The leaders are over the top of the climb and on the descent. Still waiting on confirmation of the allocation of KOM points.

And now Lastra has joined the leaders so we have four our ahead at last: Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Willie Smit (Katusha-Alpecin), Sander Armée (Lotto Soudal) and Angel Madrazo (Burgos-BH). They're approaching the summit of the climb with almost seven minutes to play with.

South African Willie Smit has dropped Jonathan Lastra and caught the two leaders on the climb, so we have three out ahead now. Lastra is about 40 seconds back.

Our two leaders have completed the descent and are onto the second climb, the Cat.3 Alto de Benillobo (6.4km at 4.2%). They have 1'08" on the two chasers and almost seven minutes on the pack.

Thanks to Procyclingstats we now know that it was Angel Madrazo who took the maximum 5pts over the top of the Cat.2 Puerto de Confrides. So he's currently in pole position for the polka dot jersey.

This being the Vuelta, there are currently no TV images and the updates from the race via the official platforms are very sporadic. As such, we don't know who went over the summit in pole position, but we do know that the two leaders are mid-way through the descent with a lead of 1'28" over the two chasers and 6'38" over the peloton.

Madrazo and Armee aren't making it easy for the two chasers - probably because it would comprimise each of their polka dot jersey ambitions. They're approaching the summit now with a gap of one minute on the duo behind. The peloton is almost six minutes in arrears.

Today's final climb, the Cat.2 Alto de Puig Llorenca - also known as the Cumbre del Sol - is just 3km but has an average gradient of 9.5% so it should blow the peloton apart and sink most of the sprinters. So, expect some kind of reduced finish today - it surely won't be a bunch affair.

Our two leaders - Madrazo and Armee - are nearing the end of a flat mid-section of this long climb. The gradient has been very gentle for the past five or so kilometres but things ramp up a little bit from here to the summit. They still lead the chasers - Lastra and Smit - by 40 seconds. The pack is now being controlled by the turquoise jerseys of Astana, whose Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez is in red.

Armée and Madrazo have 30 seconds on two chasers, Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Willie Smit (Katusha Alpecin). The pack is now at 2'20" and so it looks like these four riders will eventually form the day's break.

There's been a crash in the peloton involving two Mitchelton-Scott riders - Luka Mezgec and Dion Smith - who are receiving attention from the medical car.

We're onto the Cat.2 Puerto de Confrides (20.4km at 3.6%). It's the first categorised climb of the Vuelta and two riders have zipped off the front - that man Madrazo, who was in the earlier break, and Sander Armee (Lotto Soudal). They're clearly motivated by the polka dot jersey.

Some on-board footage from yesterday - including a rider's eye view of one of those big crashes...