Cycling: Wust has the speed to keep pack at bay

MARCEL WUST confirmed his prowess as a sprinter when he won the massed drive to the line in the second stage of the Tour of Spain yesterday.

Helped by his team-mates, who allowed him to slipstream and then have a clear run for the finish, the German took his ninth Tour of Spain stage victory in his 11-year professional career.

"I could not have done it without my team," he said.

The Spanish-based cyclist, who rides for the Festina-Lotus team, covered the 127 miles between Alicante and Albacete in 4hr 46min 4sec but, after several escapes were reeled in by the peloton, attention focused on the crucial final attacks.

France's Jacky Durand, of Lotto, held on to the leader's golden jersey for a second day as no one could acquire enough time bonuses from the special sprints to knock him off the top of the overall standings.

Italy's Stefano Zanini finished second while his compatriot Giovanni Lombardi came third. South Africa's Robert Hunter, who won the first stage on Sunday, reaffirmed his emergence as a cyclist to be feared in the final kilometres of any stage across flat and fast ground, crossing the line in sixth place.

A 13-man breakaway group threw down the gauntlet 16 miles out but there was little enthusiasm from the peloton to recapture them. It took until the 132km (81 miles) checkpoint before they were caught.

As rain fell in the final hour and a half, Spain's Inigo Chaurreau made a play for victory just over 30 miles from home.

Coming down from the final climb, at Alto de la Muela, he sped off and no one was prepared to chase him except the Italian Fabio Roscioli, who took 10 miles to catch him.

The pair at one stage had nearly a minute and a half advantage over the main group but they were hauled in with two and a half miles to go to Albacete.

TOUR OF SPAIN Second stage (Alicante to Albacte, 206 km, 127 miles): 1 M Wust (Ger) Festina 4hr 46min 04sec; 2 S Zanini (It) Mapei; 3 G Lombardi (It) Deutsche Telekom; 4 R McEwen (Aus) Rabobank; 5 J Blijevens (Neth) TVM; 6 R Hunter (SA) Lampre; 7 M Traversoni (It) Saeco; 8 A Turicchia (It) Riso Scotti; 9 J Dean (NZ) US Postal; 10 J Planckaert (Bel) Lotto; 11 N Mattan (Bel) Cofidis; 12 F Guidi (It) Polti; 13 G Raimondi (It) Liquigas; 14 K-A Arvesen (Nor) Riso Scotti; 15 S Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio all same time. Leading overall standings: 1 J Durand, (Fr) Lotto 9hr 31min 14sec; 2 I Gonzalez Galdeano (Sp) Vitalicio +2sec; 3 A Olano (Sp) ONCE-Deutsche bank +3; 4 R Hunter (SA) Lampre +3; 5 I Cuesta (Sp) ONCE-Deutsche bank +4; 6 M Lafis (Swe) TVM +4; 7 McEwen +4; 8 G Niermann (Ger) Rabobank +4; 9 M A Martin Perdiguero (Sp) ONCE-Deutsche Bank +5; 10 F Hoj (Den) US Postal +6.