Kaden Groves opens 2024 account with Vuelta stage win

You wouldn't call it a drought, but Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has had a frustrating wait between victories.

The Queensland sprinter enjoyed a rich harvest at last year's Vuelta a España, where he won three stages and took home the points jersey.

It's taken Groves nearly 12 months to snag another win, and he's done it by returning to the Vuelta and winning last night's stage two in Portugal.

After the opening time trial, the first road stage from Cascais to Ourém turned out to be a straightforward sprint. A token breakaway of two Spanish riders escaped early into the 194-kilometre race and were comfortably reeled in by the sprinters' teams with 50km to go.

Along the way, Groves took the intermediate sprint ahead of Belgium's Wout van Aert in what would serve as a warm-up for the finale.

Despite losing members of their sprint train with mechanical issues, Alpecin-Deceuninck kept Groves safely in position near the front of the peloton. That proved important when, with 2km to go, a crash brought down several riders including outside contender Jhonathan Narváez (INEOS-Grenadiers).

Groves latched on to van Aert's wheel ahead of the uphill sprint to the finish.

When the Belgian jumped, Groves quickly came alongside and had the power to win the bunch kick, somewhat comfortably in the end.

Photo: Unipublic/Cxcling/Beatriz Martinez

"It's a really nice way to start this Vuelta. It's been a hard year for myself, not having a win yet, and I've come here super-motivated to change that. I must say, I've got to thank my team for a really strong ride and controlling today," Groves said.

"My two lead-out men, Edward (Planckaert) and (Xandro) Meurisse, had problems with the bikes. I think they hit some holes on the road, so I actually missed them both in the final. Normally, I think, Wout would have followed me and my lead-out, but in the end I had to go the opposite.

"I had an injury in the spring and missed a lot of racing, but then I returned to a really good level for the Giro, but in the end was not fast enough to beat Jonathan Milan or Tim Merlier. That kept me really motivated and working hard to come to a race like this, which suits me super well."

In a challenging Vuelta short on pure sprint stages, Groves said it was "important" for the team to grab a win early.

His next opportunity for victory should come as early as tonight, another likely sprint stage to Castelo Branco. Groves will wear the green jersey as leader of the points classification, having started his defence of that competition in the best way possible.

Results - 2024 Vuelta a España Stage 2

1. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 5:12:55
2. Wout van Aert (Team Visma - Lease a Bike)
3. Corbin Strong (Israel - Premier Tech)

Feature photo: Unipublic/Sprint Cycling Agency