Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team worked all day at the front — again — to bring back a three rider break with 4km to go at the 171.4km Stage 2 of Tour de San Luis on Tuesday. OPQS was hoping to set up Mark Cavendish for a possible second win in just two races this season, as the stage profile was once again one for the sprinters.
However, Sacha Modolo (Bardiani CSF Inox) was able to beat Cavendish to the line on a slightly uphill finish, by less than a bike length. Leigh Howard (Orica GreenEDGE) was 3rd.
"I tried, but Modolo was just better today," Cavendish said immediately after the stage. "We gave everything we had as a team. We were short some riders at the end, but the guys really did an incredible job for me today."
OPQS looks next to be a stage for the climbers. The 173.1km Stage 3 of Tour de San Luis includes a Category 3 climb, and two Category 1 climbs with the last being a summit finish. The last 4.8km is a 6.7% average gradient.