Roche wins Vuelta stage two, Nibali leads

ALTO DO MONTE DA GROBA, Spain (Reuters) - Ireland's Nicolas Roche took a solo win on stage two of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, while Italy's Vincenzo Nibali grabbed the overall lead.

(AAP)

Spain's Dani Moreno was second, a couple of seconds behind Roche, with Italian Domenico Pozzovivo in third.

Saxo-Tinkoff rider Roche broke away from a group of around 25 riders containing most of the top favourites with a kilometre to go on the Vuelta's first summit finish, at Alto do Monte da Groba.

Overnight leader Janez Brajkovic lost contact in the final part of the climb, with 2013 Giro d'Italia winner Nibali taking over as the new race leader.

The race finishes on September 15 in Madrid.

(Reporting by Alasdair Fotheringham; Editing by Sonia Oxley)