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The 2023 La Vuelta started with a risky and controversial Team Time Trial. Now with stage 2 the proper racing begins and the riders will immediately be tested with 3 categorised climbs on Sunday. Below you can check all La Vuelta Stage 2 odds and also you’ll find our La Vuelta Stage 2 predictions.
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La Vuelta Stage 2 Profile
The 2023 La Vuelta Stage 2 starts from the coastal town of Mataro but it veers inland towards Barcelona. The stage is 181.8 km (112.5 miles) long and the starting time is 11:45 GMT. Meanwhile, the estimated finish time is 16:30 GMT.
The stage begins in the coastal town of Mataró but heads inland towards Barcelona. Shortly after the start comes the first categorised climbs of the race – the third-category Coll de Sant Bartomeu (6.6km at 4.5%). Then again early in the race comes Coll d’Estenalles (12.1km at 3.9%). There’s also the third category, Alto del Castell de Montjuïc, lying at just 3.6km from the finish line. All this makes it unlikely for a spring finish. Breakaway or GC contenders are expected to dominate.
Our Betting Tips and Predictions for La Vuelta Stage 2
With the 2023 La Vuelta now on its way, all eyes are on team Jumbo-Visma which contains the two main favourites for the overall win. However, many other riders have high aspirations and this first proper stage is an opportunity for some of those breakaway specialists to try and get a stage win.
Our Outright Prediction: Marijn van den Berg @ 6/1 (7.00)
This stage seems to be built for the Dutch breakaway specialist Marijn van den Berg. He is a powerful climber of second and third-category climbs and this is all he had to deal with during the day. The short but steep final climb shortly before the finish is perfect for Van den Berg to launch an attack.
As he is not a direct threat to the GC overall we expect that the main players will let him go if he desires and once in front with the finish line in sight, Van den Berg can outrace anyone.
Our Each-way Prediction: Remco Evenepoel @ 1/4 (1.25)
The defending La Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel is a gifted climber but also a strong sprinter. If we assume that the main group of GC contenders arrives together at the line we can safely say that Remco will be among the top 3 finishers on the day as his sprint is one of the best outside the specialist sprinters. With bonus seconds (10, 6, 1) for the top 3 positions in every stage, Remco will be motivated if he has a chance.
Our Dark Horse Prediction: Mikael Landa @ 40/1 (41.00)
For our dark horse to win stage 2 we pick the vastly experienced Spanish veteran Mikael Landa. Landa’s ambitions during this Vuelta are to win stages and to challenge for the poka dot jersey. He knows the final climb very well and due to that, we think if Landa is close to the lead as the riders hit the last few kilometres Landa will fancy his chances.
La Vuelta Stage 2 Odds
Now we’ve made our picks here are the odds for the top 10 favourites to win Stage 2:
Primoz Roglic 5/2 (3.50)
Marijn van den Berg 6/1 (7.00)
Remco Evenepoel 9/1 (10.00)
Romain Gregoire 12/1 (13.00)
Kaden Groves 17/1 (18.00)
Geraint Thomas 22/1 (23.00)
Juan Ayuso 22/1 (23.00)
Bryan Coquard 35/1 (36.00)
Alberto Dainese 35/1 (36.00)
Mikael Landa 40/1 (41.00)
Our first 2 picks from above are among the top 3 favourites to win the stage and understandably so. We think that the La Vuelta Stage 2 odds are telling as to who are the main contenders for the stage win. Eager to win his 4th La Vuelta Primoz Roglic is expected to go all-out attack from this day onward. However, we don’t think the terrain is that hard for the other GC contenders to contain him, so we think the winner will be someone who is not a threat for the red jersey.
There are a few pure sprinters among the top 10 riders tipped to win. However, their odds suggest that even the bookies don’t believe a bunch sprint is a likely outcome.
Our dark horse pick Mikael Landa is a veteran rider that has climbed the enigmatic final hill Alto del Castell de Montjuïc hundreds of times in his career. Landa is one of the riders set to try and win the King of the Mountains and what better way for him to set the early tone but win stage 2.
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