The last 20km of the second stage of the Catalunya Volta was a tumultuous affair, with Vickexchain-Jacco celebrating Kayden Groves' second win and regretting GC leader Simon Yates' time loss.

The 23-year-old Groves followed teammate Michael Matthews' stage 1 victory with his first World Tour win. On the final straight in Perpignan, race leader Matthews led his young Australian compatriot to a narrow group sprint victory.

Bike Exchange-Jaycor's back-to-back wins were all the more remarkable because the two Australians were the only representatives of the front group after the peloton was torn apart by crosswinds and echelon.

Others were caught up in the crash at the back of the pack, and shortly afterward split and fell back to assist the team's GC leader, Yates, who was stranded.

"I'm not sure what happened," Yates said. The group broke apart and thank God Michael was with me." The pack fell apart and thank goodness Michael was with me.

Groves added, "He's getting better after Paris-Nice.

"He had some physical problems earlier in the year like the rest of us, but he will definitely be up there tomorrow.

For Groves himself, his second win in two days at BikeExchange-Jayco and his first on the World Tour was an important landmark.

"It was pretty tough with the crosswind and there was only a small group at the finish. It was a tough race because a lot of the GC groups were trying to take advantage of the crosswind and take their time in the other contenders," Groves commented.

"So it was a tough run in. But having Michael there helped me get a good position."

He finished third in two stages at this year's Tirreno-Adriatico, but his last bunch sprint victory came almost two years ago at his home Herald Sun Tour, and Groves said, "I've been close to winning a few times, but for me and Michael it's been almost two years. It couldn't have been a better start."

In any case, the team will now shift its focus to the GC battle, while Groves will concentrate on riding the two grueling mountain stages to the best of his ability.

On the other side of the Pyrenees, there remains the possibility of at least one more group sprint on Friday.

"I love this stage and I chose this stage to win," said the Frenchman. 'I can't believe it. Maybe later in the week I'll be able to sprint again.

"We just have to take it one day at a time, do our best and survive," Groves said. Groves said. But Tuesday's victory must make the pain he feels on the climbs a lot less painful.