It's a double for Luke Mudgway and Li Ning Star at the Bajaj Pune Grand Tour. Just like yesterday, on the finish line of the second stage (the 105-kilometer Pune-Maval route), the '96 New Zealander left no room for his rivals, sprinting to victory ahead of the group he had broken away with before the final climb of the day.

Crucial in the final part of the stage for the native of Palmerston North (increasingly the race leader) was the work done by his teammate Sinschek, who was vital in maintaining a high pace and controlling the rivals' moves in the last thirty kilometers.

Thanks also to the support of the Dutchman, Mudgway was again ready for the sprint where Carter Bettles (Roojai Insurance Winspace) and Yorben Lauryssen (Tartelleto-Isorex) had to settle for secondary positions, finishing second and third behind the yellow jersey.

THE RACE REPORT

The group started immediately uphill, with the steep second-category mountain point just a few kilometers after the start significantly thinning out the peloton. After the summit (where Stefan Bennett of EuroCyclingTrips-CCN was first to pass), the situation normalized: six riders, with the blessing of yellow jersey Luke Mudgway and his team, went ahead, and behind them the peloton slowed down, allowing almost all the previously dropped riders to return to the group.

Meanwhile, up front, Zeno Moonen (Tartelleto-Isorex), Zhe Yie Kee (Terengganu Cycling Team), Ilham Ramadhan (Nusantara Cycling Team), Jacob Langham (Velofit Australia), Muhammad Syelhan (ASC Monsters Indonesia) and Jaebin Yun (Roojai Insurance Winspace) quickly found a good agreement and, increasing their margin, contested the first intermediate sprint of the day in Chivhewadi. Surprisingly, South Korean champion Yun then decided to break away from his companions, continuing solo. His brave and daring move earned him points at the Kapurhol flying finish and allowed him to travel for several kilometers with a lead of over 1'30". However, Li Ning Star, managing the chase, prevented the breakaway rider from gaining an excessive advantage, and by the time they reached the second mountain point of the day, the peloton was just a handful of seconds behind. In the short descent that followed, Yun was reabsorbed, and a group of about thirty riders could finally breathe a sigh of relief in the valley before the final climb of the day.

Peace reigned for only a few moments because, thanks to a violent attack by Kane Richards and Carter Bettles (Roojai Insurance Winspace), the group split into several parts. Leader Mudgway, after initially being surprised, managed to join the first group of eight riders. These were the ones who approached the third climb of the day, with Bettles setting the pace. The twenty-seven-year-old from Brisbane's pace was not particularly incisive, but it allowed him, once at the top, to descend with Clement Alleno (Burgos Burpellet BH) and Mudgway with a few seconds' advantage over the other members of the first group. Back on the flat, Stefan Bennett (EuroCyclingTrips-CCN), Yorben Lauryssen (Tartelleto-Isorex), Nils Sinschek (Li Ning Star) and Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Burgos Burpellet BH) immediately joined the three, forming a seven-rider group that, maintaining a high pace especially thanks to the last two, went to contest the stage victory in a sprint. In the finale, Mudgway's turn of speed proved once again unbeatable for the others, who could only bow down for the second day in a row to the Li Ning Star rider.

This was his seventh elite-level victory in a career that in the last three years has seen him perform especially at the Continental level, and he also strengthened his first position in the general classification of the Indian stage race, now leading by 15" over the surprising Lauryssen and 17" over the very active Bettles.

STAGE RESULTS

1st Luke Mudgway (NZL/Li Ning Star) 2:31:02

2nd Carter Bettles (AUS/Roojai Insurance Winspace) s.t.

3rd Yorben Lauryssen (BEL/Tartelletto-Isorex) s.t.

4th Clement Alleno (FRA/Burgos Burpellet BH) s.t.

5th Jambaljamts Sainbayar (MON/Burgos Burpellet BH) s.t.

6th Stefan Bennett (FRA/EuroCyclingTrips-CCN) s.t.

7th Nils Sinschek (OLA/Li Ning Star) s.t.

8th Zeb Kyffin (ENG/Terengganu Cycling Team) at 36"

9th Merhawi Kudus (ERI/Burgos Burpellet BH) at 36"

10th Cristian Raileanu (MOL/Li Ning Star) at 36"

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1st Luke Mudgway (NZL/Li Ning Star) 4:32:00

2nd Yorben Lauryssen (BEL/Tartelletto-Isorex) +15"

3rd Carter Bettles (AUS/Roojai Insurance Winspace) +17"

4th Nils Sinschek (OLA/Li Ning Star) +22"

5th Clement Alleno (FRA/Burgos Burpellet BH) +34"

6th Jambaljamts Sainbayar (MON/Burgos Burpellet BH) +36"

7th Merhawi Kudus (ERI/Burgos Burpellet BH) +1'20"

8th Cristian Raileanu (MOL/Li Ning Star) +1'21"

9th Juan Pedro Lozano (SPA/Terengganu Cycling Team) +2'01"

10th Zeb Kyffin (ENG/Terengganu Cycling Team) +2'27"