After tackling almost 3000 meters of elevation, Hugo Hofstetter showed strong legs on stage 2 of the Vuelta a España, digging deep in the tough, technical finale to sprint to fifth place in Manosque.
There was no panic from the Frenchman, who stayed glued to race leader Tadej Pogačar’s wheel in the final few hundred meters, with Hofstetter eventually settling for fifth on the day while the win went to Matthew Brennan (Visma – Lease A Bike).
Hofstetter credited his teammates for their work to set him up, keeping him in position at the front of the strung out peloton, as attacks flew in the closing kilometers.
“My legs were really good in the final,” explains Hoftsetter. “I was really happy with that, because it was a really hard final, especially in the last three kilometers. The team did a great job to protect me. Floris [Van Tricht] was there at the points that we said in the meeting so I could save a lot of energy on these two kickers where Pogačar and Van Aert attacked.
“So I am really happy with fifth position. It’s a good result for me on this hard finish, and it also gives me confidence after my sickness in Poland.”