Six years after he took the Vuelta a España lead for a day, Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) is wearing la Roja, again after `giving it a shot`, as he put it, by getting in the winning break of the day, and ending up by hitting the GC bullseye. The Irishman made it into an elite escape group on an exceptionally aggressive ascent of a second-category Puig Llorença late on stage 2, then place second on the line just behind winner Nairo Quintana (Movistar). That performance was enough to put Roche in a Grand Tour lead six years after moving into the top spot of the Vuelta at the southern Spanish summit of Peñas Blancas on stage 8 of the 2013 edition.ADVERTISEMENT Previously fifth in this year`s overall standings thanks to Sunweb`s excellent team time trial on Saturday, where his squad placed fourth, Roche described himself as `speechless` when he was told that he had ousted Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) from the race lead. The Irishman needed only five seconds on Lopez but came away with 33 instead. Roche said he had fought his best to make it into the winning break, and then, as he put it, `I decided to give it a shot and see what would happen.` `It was definitely a crazy, aggressive final,` Roche, who now leads Quintana by a slender two seconds, said afterwards. `At the start this morning, some riders thought we might get a reduced bunch sprint, but it was very intense and the pace in those kilometres before the climb was very high.`
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