Colombian cyclist Santiago Mesa of Anicolor/Capicarn won the second stage of the 87th Volta a Portugal on Friday in a sprint finish. Mesa completed the 180.4-kilometer course connecting Sines to Albufeira in 3 hours, 59 minutes and 8 seconds.
Mesa proved the strongest in the bunch sprint, beating Spaniard Daniel Cavia of Burgos-Burpellet-BH into second place and Argentine Tomas Contte of Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé Concelho into third. Portuguese rider Rui Oliveira of UAE Emirates finished sixth in the same time, maintaining his overall race lead with a total time of 7 hours, 45 minutes and 32 seconds.
Stage Three Route Details
The peloton will tackle the longest stage of the race on Saturday. Stage three covers 182.2 kilometers between Beja and Elvas, featuring three intermediate sprints and one third-category mountain climb as riders pass Monsaraz Castle in the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz.
The 87th edition of the Volta a Portugal provides race debuts for both Francisco Campos and Rui Oliveira. Campos won the opening stage of the competition, after which Oliveira took over as the new overall leader.
Environmental Demands and Cycling News
In related developments surrounding the event, an association requested that the government revoke authorization for the Volta a Portugal to pass through Gerês Park.
In separate cycling news reported alongside the stage, Portuguese rider João Almeida suffered a severe fall that ruled him out of contention in the Tour of Poland.
