A little more than a week after being forced out of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Richie Porte has had to leave the Volta a Catalunya due to the same health issues. The Australian hopes to recover soon for his later objectives while his team leader Chris Froome got safely through a very wet day in the Spanish race.

 

Team Sky controlled the peloton for much of the second stage in tough conditions to protect Chris Froome at the Volta a Catalunya.

 

The Brit finished safely in the main group for the second day in succession and will head into the climbs on Wednesday in a strong position.

 

Team Sky drove the pace on the final uncategorised climb and Froome was able to negotiate a tricky finale with multiple roundabouts on slick roads in Girona.

 

At the line Luka Mezgec claimed back-to-back stage wins to extend his race lead and see off his rivals in the bunch sprint. The Giant-Shimano rider stretched out his advantage in the general classification, besting Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) and Daniele Ratto (Cannondale) at the line.

 

The team were forced to complete the stage without Richie Porte after the Tasmanian withdrew, continuing to feel the effects of the illness that forced him out of Tirreno-Adriatico.

 

Despite feeling better in the days leading up to the race, a disappointed Porte admitted: "I'm obviously not 100 percent. After my illness at Tirreno I went home and just haven't quite been able to get over it.

 

"Training is one thing, but when you come to the race there's nowhere to hide. Unfortunately today I had to stop but I think long-term I'll be able to go back, get healthy, recover and re-start my season."

 

You can read our preview of stage three here and follow our live coverage at 15.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.