Tour of Castile and Leon – Simon Yates wins stage two and General, Genthy Bermans finishes eighth

(Belga) Britain’s Simon Yates (BikeExchange) won the Tour of Castile and Leon (2.1) on Thursday by winning the second and final stage in Guiuelo, Spain on his own.

Yates, 29, set off the 20km climb from the finish to claim his sixth success of the year, ahead of New Zealander George Bennett (UAE) and Spaniard Jonathan Lastra (Cajarral). The 2018 Tour de Spain winner claimed a second victory in three days after winning the Ordizia Classic in the Basque Country on Monday. Simon Yates returned to competition during this event after retiring from the Giro during Stage 17, on May 25, due to a knee injury. Italy’s Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) won the first stage the day before, taking the race ahead of New Zealander Dionne Smith (BikeExchange – Jayco) after a 156.7km stage between Benavente and Morales del Vino on Wednesday. On the Belgian side, Jenthe Biermans (Israel-Premier Tech) finished eighth overall, 1:20 behind Simon Yates. The second Belgian, Ben Hermans (Israel-Premier Tech), was the 43rd at the start in 2:49. (Belga)