Two Canadians in top-10 of Monday’s Vuelta a San Juan stage

Alexander Cataford (UnitedHealthcare) and Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy) placed in the top-10 of the Monday’s second stage of the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina. Cataford bounced up to 15th on GC after his 8th spot on the uphill finish in Peri Lago Punta Negra.

Our sprinter @Guillaumeboivin cracked the top ten in stage 2 of the @vueltasanjuanok! He survived the windy climb and sprinted to 9th place ??????

? by Bettini photo
? by Yalla Academy pic.twitter.com/Evw8OCEzNL

— Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@YallaIsraelSUN) January 23, 2018

The day’s winner, Costa Rican Roman Villalobos of Canels Specialized, took over the leader’s jersey from Quick Step’s Stage 1 victor, Fernando Gaviria.

The riders faced four Cat. 3 climbs spread out over one big loop and three smaller ones. The finale was set on a slight rise after a steeper climb.

#VueltaSJ2018 continues today with stage 2 (149.9 kilometers), starting and finishing in Peri Lago Punta Negra. pic.twitter.com/5Tn5IKwPEz

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) January 22, 2018

It was this hill that provided all the excitement. Four riders scuttled away and Villalobos’s Mexican teammate Ignacio de Jesús Prado did enough on the categorized ascents to wear the climber’s jersey at the end of the day. As expected, Quick Step did most of the pace work in the peloton.

A wise man once said that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. What he didn't know was that the best and fastest way to cover that distance is having a guy like @IljoKeisse on your team.#VueltaSJ2018
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/Swfr4kUwMd

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) January 22, 2018

Although the fugitives came to heel with 25-km to go, this wasn’t the end of the moves. A quintet tried its luck and various fellows attacked all for naught.
https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/955566941195915264
Villalobos was in a trio that dashed away on the climb with 1.5-km remaining. The Tico ripped away to the win and the two Canadians were in a bunch of 31 on the same time as Villalobos. Gaviria came in eight-seconds later.
https://twitter.com/wcstats/status/955569808938070017
Tuesday is a pan-flat 14.4-km time trial.

2018 Vuelta a San Juan Internacional Stage 2
1) Roman Villalobos (Costa Rica/Canels Specialized) 3:25:06
2) Ricardo Escuela (Argentina/Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima) s.t
3) Tiesj Benoot (Belgium/Lotto-Soudal) s.t.
8) Alexander Cataford (Canada/UnitedHealthcare) s.t.
9) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy) s.t.
150) Ben Perry (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy +8:07

2018 Vuelta a San Juan Internacional GC
1) Roman Villalobos (Costa Rica/Canels Specialized) 6:40:19
2) Ricardo Escuela (Argentina/Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima) +0:04
3) Tiesj Benoot (Belgium/Lotto-Soudal) +0:06
15) Alexander Cataford (Canada/UnitedHealthcare) +0:10
31) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy s.t.
149) Ben Perry (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy) +8:17