Ineos Grenadiers remained upbeat in the 2022 Volta a Catalunya despite the misfortune of losing Richie Porte on stage 2.

Porte, winner of the Volta a Catalunya and a top-five finisher at Tirreno Adriatico, was one of several cards the British team had on the table for the GC contenders in the seven-day race. However, sport director Brett Lancaster told Cycling News that after surviving Monday's opening stage in the main group, things went wrong for Porte on Tuesday.

"Yesterday [Monday] he was fine, but during the race today he got sick," Lancaster said. So he decided to quit the race."

On the plus side for the team that swept third in Catalunya last year with Porte in second between Adam Yates and Geraint Thomas, Richard Karapas and Pavel Sivakov were in a lead group of about 40 riders that pulled away with a few kilometers to go in stage 2. In other words, both were poised to join the GC contenders.

Calapaz returned from the illness that had taken him out of Tirreno-Adriatico.

"He's still working out for the Giro, so I don't have high expectations for him," Lancaster said. I don't have high expectations for him," Lancaster said.

However, a badly timed puncture left 21-year-old Spanish rider Carlos Rodriguez in the same group as Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco), 33 seconds back.

"He got a flat tire just before the crosswind section and lost time. But that's cycling. He will keep fighting.

"Pavel is also moving well. It's not game over with Ritchie out. We still have options and a lot of quality riders who can step up."

As Lancaster told Cycling News before the first stage, however, Catalunya had to sit out due to a slight change in the race plan due to the amount of travel early in the season.

"He rode high in the Sierra Nevada, went to the UAE and Paris-Nice, and scouted in Dunain for the Tour. 'There was a lot of travel. So there was a lot of moving around," Lancaster said.

Looking at the 2022 Catalunya route globally, Lancaster, who oversaw Ineos Grenadier's historic 1-2-3 finish in the GC last year, said the lack of a time trial has definitely changed the race scenario.

"A lot of teams saw that and knew they had a chance to try this race," he noted. This year's lineup is exceptionally good."

As for whether the loss of 33 seconds means that the GC threat by Simon Yates is gone--especially given that the Volta a Catalunya often wins with much shorter times--Lancaster said that Bike Exchange riders argues that it is a setback for them, but far from a decisive blow.

"Of course, I can't say for sure what he will do, but it will probably mean that Simon will attack a little earlier on the climb.