Manosque (France) (AFP) - Matthew Brennan emerged triumphant from a bunch sprint to claim Vuelta a Espana stage two victory, while overall favourite Tadej Pogacar retained the red jersey on Sunday.

Briton Brennan was followed over the line by Spaniard Pau Miquel and Pogacar after a long 214.3 kilometre stage with over 3,000 metres of climbing, leaving Monaco and heading to Manosque in France.

Ethan Hayter, who was pipped by Pogacar in Saturday’s opening individual time trial, was part of a four-man breakaway who led for much of the race, although the peloton never let them escape too far up the road.

The Briton stayed in front to win the intermediate sprint and claim six bonus seconds. It gave him the chance to take Pogacar’s red jersey but he could not stay with the UAE Team Emirates rider on the slight uphill finish, with Pogacar clinging on to red.

Wout van Aert made a move under two kilometres before the finish, with Pogacar following, but the peloton caught them, giving Visma-Lease A Bike’s Brennan the chance to claim the stage win.

Hayter was dropped and came in 31 seconds behind Pogacar in the lead group, who picked up four bonus seconds too for his third place.

“We started off with the ambition of Wout trying to get in the red jersey today,” explained Brennan.

“We had that plan and then I was always going to be in the background for the sprint in case that plan (didn’t work)… and that’s exactly what happened.”

Brennan is competing in a Grand Tour for the first time and claimed his first stage win at this level.

“Hopefully it’s not the last one, but it’s nice,” he added.

Slovenian cycling superstar Pogacar, a five-time Tour de France winner, is the overwhelming favourite to win the race and complete a Grand Tour career hat-trick.

Only a huge shock will prevent him finishing the race in Granada on September 13 as the ninth rider to manage the feat and just the fourth to do a Tour-Vuelta double in the same season.

On Monday, stage three riders head 174km from Gruissan to Font Romeu, the race’s first high-altitude finale.