Alexandre Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), who lost to Remco Evenpoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) on the first stage of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, took the Belgian 48 hours later on the race's toughest solo climb. He dropped him and moved into the overall lead.

Vlasov's third attack on the difficult Stellato section of the Athenas del Maigmo pulled away from Evenpoel and soloed to his first win with his new team, Beulah Hansgrohe.

Brasov, second in Paris-Nice in 2021 and second in the Tour de la Provence in 2020, has always shined in the early stage races. But this year's victory in Valenciana was the first time the 25-year-old has hit the victory jackpot in an early spring race.

"I like these climbs, I saw the gravel section in the video and it was really hard," he said.

"Stellato was pretty hard and had some big stones, so I decided to make a difference there," he added.

Vlasov was 16 seconds behind Evenpoel after the second stage and 14 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers). With Evenpoel finishing eighth, Vlasov was 32 seconds ahead of the Belgian star.

With only two flat sprint stages remaining, the margin should be enough for Vlasov to claim his first stage race win, barring any major surprises.

His lead is also a welcome morale booster for Bora-Hansgrohe, as Wilco Kelderman did not start stage 3 after crashing on stage 2, and teammate Matthew Walls was forced to retire after crashing during Friday's stage. His lead is also a welcome morale booster for Bora-Hansgrohe. According to the team announcement, Kelderman was not seriously injured, with only bruises and scrapes, but the team opted to stop the race as a precaution.

Vlasov, on the other hand, rode strongly: fourth in the 2021 Giro d'Italia and set to compete in the Tour de France this year, his success in Valenciana means that the Russian has already made a great start to 2022.

"I'm very happy it went so well," Brasov said after the race. 'I feel like I'm part of the team.'