Caleb Ewan flew past his rivals for a clear win on stage two of the Tour of the Basque Country on Tuesday after a flat run from Pamplona ended with a 70kph dash to the line at Lodosa.
Soudal-Quick Step's Maximilian Schachmann retained the overall lead ahead of Team UAE's Joao Almeida and Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull.
The bunch sprint triumph was a second win of the season for the 30-year-old Ewan, who joined Ineos in the close season.
SECOND PLACE 🥈 First World Tour podium for Luca Van Boven after fantastic leadout from Tom Paquot in Itzulia Basque Country 👏 pic.twitter.com/LIc3MO03Lu
— Intermarché-Wanty (@IntermarcheW) April 8, 2025
"The team got me into a good position. I was fourth wheel when we came round that final bend," said Ewan, known as "the pocket rocket" due to his 5-foot-5 (165cm) stature.
The finish line came after a kilometres-long motorway stretch and the peloton flew into the final 400m.
A long-range breakaway was caught just outside town but Visma's Victor Campenaerts ended up crashing in that chase and looked ragged and in agony on the roadside.
The incident sparks painful memories of last year's Tour of the Basque Country when a downhill fall caused by tree roots on the road took out Visma's Jonas Vingegaard, who spent two weeks in hospital.
With four hilly or mountainous stages remaining, Wednesday's stage three from Zarautz to Besain serves up seven climbs over a 153km route, the last hill is just 1.4km long, but parts are at a 16.5 per cent incline.
"Tomorrow we hit the hills and stage three will be a crucial one," Schachmann said after picking up his yellow race leader's jersey.