Pogacar caught off guard by Van Aert attack but keeps red in Manosque

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) held the red jersey on stage 2 of the Vuelta a España but finished third in Manosque, beaten by Matthew Brennan and Pau Miquel after chasing down Wout van Aert on the closing rise.

Van Aert went on the steep run to the inside the final kilometres and Pogačar stated that he was slow to respond.

"It was to be expected, but I was a little bit too late to react," Pogačar said. "He opened a good gap and then over the top, on the flat part, I still had to push and he was looking around," said to the media in his post-race interview

The two had not spoken beforehand. Asked whether they had, Pogačar said no.

Once he made the junction, he had a decision to make. Van Aert had Brennan behind him, so committing meant risking a lead-out for a faster finisher.

"Then I finally caught him and I should have committed if we could have a chance to win, but I also knew that he has Matthew Brennan in the back, so I didn't know what to do."

"I tried to stay on his wheel and hoped that he would commit to the finish line, but also there was really a lot of lactate in the legs already there, and I was just then in the end happy to take third place."

Brennan won from behind on his Grand Tour road stage debut and took the white jersey. Van Aert is second overall at nine seconds.

Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), who lost the prologue by nine hundredths of a second, took bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint and was in range of red. He was dropped on the final climb and lost 31 seconds. Pogačar didn't have an idea of the situation heading into the finale.

"I didn't know, so I was just all in for the stage win and I just tried to be there in a safe place and follow the hard moves."