The organizers of Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2025 – the popular race in Catalonian territory – had designed stage 2 of this year’s race as a 177.3-kilometer ride from Banyoles to Figueres. The race had travelled further north since yesterday’s stage. Stage 2 would be contested in mountainous terrain, which was situated near the Costa Brava coast. 

The route of stage 2 included the climbs of Coll de Sant Pere de Rodes (Category 1) and Coll Puig del Peni (Category 3). The general classification favorites in the Volta a Catalunya peloton were expected to prove their worth in the stage.

The start town of Banyoles is known for the Romanesque church of Sant Andreu de Mata, the negro of Banyoles taxidermy, the sculptures of the Can Ginebreda forest, and for hosting the rowing events of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. A walk around the stunningly beautiful Lake Banyoles is recommended. 

The finish town of Figueres is known for the Sant Ferran Castle, where the final meeting of the civil war was held. Figueres is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dali and hosts a very interesting Dali Museum. Perhaps the race organizers would bizarrely choose a dotted finish line for the stage finale in Figueres and would only record every other rider, in honor of the great Salvador Dali, who excelled in surrealism.

Great Britain’s Matthew Brennan was leading the general classification for Team Visma-Lease a Bike after his surprising and impressive victory in yesterday’s stage 1. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was second in the GC, and Tibor del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) third. Enric Mas was fourth for Movistar Team, followed by Primoz Roglic (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) and Dorian Godon (Decathlon-AG2R). 

The weather conditions had fortunately improved, and the riders arrived at the start line while enjoying the warming rays from the sunny skies.

In a repeat of yesterday’s stage start, Danny van der Tuuk was once again active in the early attacking efforts of stage 2. The polish rider was eager to fly the orange Euskaltel-Euskadi team colors on the roads of Catalonia – and perhaps he would even be joined by fellow rolling oranges. 

A breakaway trio featuring van der Tuuk, Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Calum Johnson (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) established itself early in the stage and had fought its way to an advantage of approximately 03:30 minutes after fifty kilometers of racing. But the two categorized climbs still awaited the Volta a Catalunya riders mid-stage. Alpecin-Deceuninck riders were controlling the pace in the main peloton.

The front trio was first to reach the top of the Coll Puig del Peni (Category three), while the main peloton was increasing its pace. The 4.8-kilometer climb had an average gradient of five percent, which proved a noteworthy challenge to the riders in the race.

The trio of breakaway optimists were also first to reach the most significant climb of the day – the Coll de Sant Pere de Rodes. The category One climb featured gradient sections of more than eight percent and the average gradient on the 7.7-kilometer climb was 6.4 percent.

Calum Johnson was the first rider from the breakaway to get reeled in by the chasing peloton on the steep climb. Uriarte and van der Tuuk pressed on, but now with a lead of just forty seconds over the main peloton, which was spearheaded by riders from UAE Team Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike, and Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Enjoying the climbs, Mario Aparicio (Burgos Burpellet BH) tried his luck with a brave solo attack from the peloton, while riders were getting dropped from the rear part of the peloton.

Aparicio caught the front duo on the climb and pressed on solo. He was first to reach the summit of the climb. His descending skills, alas, left much to wish for. The Spanish rider almost crashed on the descent and was caught and passed by Uriarte, while van der Tuuk was caught by the peloton, which was led by UAE Team Emirates riders. 

Uriarte was the final rider to get caught by the peloton when seventy kilometers of stage 2 remained.

Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) won the bonus sprint in Garriguella with 68 kilometers left of the battle.

The peloton got split into two parts in the strong coastal winds. Echelons were formed and approximately thirty riders had been caught in group two. Riders from Team Picnic-PostNL were working fiercely to close the gap between the groups.

The groups remerged and the speed in the peloton was intense with 44 kilometers remaining. Several teams were pulling and there was fierce fighting for the best positions in the peloton.

Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ) attacked with Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) with 32 kilometers left of stage 2. The terrain was hilly, and the racing was fast. The duo was joined by one Alpecin-Deceuninck observer, and they were reeled in shortly later.

Equipped with Cervelo bikes, riders from Team Visma-Lease a Bike were setting a fast pace at the front of the peloton on the climb with twenty-four kilometers left of the day’s battle. Ineos-Grenadiers joined the fun together with riders from UAE Team Emirates.

Some teams were starting to set up their fastest riders for a sprint finish in Figueres. They were competing against the GC teams for optimal positions in the front part of the peloton.

Ten kilometers remained and the riders were on the wide roads that would take the riders into the finish town of Figueres. The peloton would have to contest a few dangerous roundabouts in the stage finale.

Team Decathlon-AG2R, Lidl-Trek, and Alpecin-Deceuninck were setting a very fast pace at the front of the peloton when three kilometers remained. Team Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe joined the action. The teams were setting up their sprinters for a mass sprint across the finish line. Geraint Thomas pulled.

Axel Laurance (Ineos-Grenadiers) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) launched their sprints as did Ethan Vernon. The speed was intense, and this was a dangerous sprint with many riders fighting fiercely for the stage victory.

Ethan Vernon proved the fastest man in the stage. The rider from Great Britain won stage 2 of Volta a Catalunya for his PremierTech team. Matthew Brennan finished second for Team Visma-Lease a Bike, while Kaden Groves secured an additional podium finish for his Alpecin-Deceuninck team.

“Winning today feels great,” stage winner Ethan Vernon told Roadcycling.com after the finish. “We had a full train with two kilometers to go and the guys set me up perfectly. We still have objectives with other riders in the GC in the coming days and hopefully I’ll then have an additional sprint chance later in the race,” Brennan explained.

Matthew Brennan leads the general classification for Team Visma-Lease a Bike before Wednesday’s stage 3. Kaden Groves is in second place, while Tibor del Grosso is third ahead of Eric Mas and Juan Ayuso.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2025 and the rest of the professional cycling season.