Sam Bennett claimed his first Grand Tour stage win in two years as he held off a mass sprint to take victory on Saturday at the Vuelta a Espana.

In the second of three stages held in the Netherlands, the Irishman justified his selection for BORA-Hansgrohe by refinding his form in Utrecht.

Bennett has endured a difficult season, having been left out of the Tour de France for a second straight year, but capitalised on the lead-out qualities of team-mates Ryan Mullen and Danny van Poppel.

"Danny brought me up with speed, then he was kind of ready for me to jump, but I waited a second, and I didn't know if I'd let my speed drop too much, and I was nervous I wouldn't get on top of the speed again," Bennett said.

"Danny didn't deliver me; he launched me. It was down to the boys today.

"It's nice. I knew I'd do it again, it was just a matter of getting the right legs. What I'm really happy about is continuing my pattern of winning at least one stage in every Grand Tour I've done since 2018."

Mads Pederson came in second, having been unable to sustain an early attack, with Tim Merlier finishing third.

Jumbo-Visma dominate the general classification standings, with Mike Teunissen, who crossed in fourth place, taking the leader's jersey from team-mate Robert Gesink.

Three-time reigning champion Primoz Roglic shares that lead.

More Vuelta joy for Bennett 

Bennett has now won nine stages in GTs, with four of those coming at La Vuelta. That makes the race his favourite of the big three, with the 31-year-old having won three at the Giro d'Italia and two at the Tour de France.

STAGE RESULT 

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-Hansgrohe) 3:49:34
2. Mads Pederson (Trek-Segafredo) same time
3. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) same time
4. Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) same time
5. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification

1. Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) 4:14:14
2. Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Sam Oomen (Jumbo-Visma) same time

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-Hansgrohe) 50
2. Mads Pederson (Trek-Segafredo) 50
3. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) 26

King of the Mountains

1. Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) 2
2. Thibault Guernalec (Arkea-Samsic) 1