Dennis unruffled by Vuelta red jersey loss

Stage 2 was an opportunity for Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC) to hold onto the Vuelta a España red jersey at least to the final climb up the Alto La Comella on the mountainous third stage finishing in Andorra.

Rohan Dennis. Source: Getty

However, that opportunity was blown away in the coastal winds and aggressive tactics by Quick-Step Floors which produced a victory for its rider, Yves Lampaert.

“The stage was nervous from the start to the finish," Dennis said. "Not one part of the race was relaxed where you felt like you could sit back in the peloton with no risk."

Facing the prospect of Dennis losing red, BMC backed Daniel Oss to keep the jersey in-house but were outmanned by the perfectly organised Quick-Step Floors.

Oss missed the opportunity and finished 8th while Dennis ended his day with the fourth group and in 89th position.

"I was hoping that Daniel Oss could take the jersey at the end of the stage so every now and then I tried to help him move up in the final 15km," Dennis said.

"In the end, the time bonus was taken by Quick-Step Floors and we couldn’t do much about losing the jersey."

Dennis still features at the pointy end of the general classification, in 6th overall at 17 seconds, and looks forward to the Stage 3 Andorra finish with a little less pressure.

"Time loss isn’t a massive issue for me, it was more of a pride thing or not just sitting up and being lazy," he said.

"I’m motivated to try and get a result in Andorra but the legs have to agree with what my head wants. It’s a tough stage and will be interesting how the GC guys ride it.”

SBS will broadcast and live stream all stages of the Vuelta a España live from 19 August to 10 September.