Team Sky put on an impressive collective performance in the Ruta del Sol's tough opening stage, with Wout Poels narrowly defeated by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in the finish, and both Mikel Landa and Diego Rosa in the thick of the battle over the Alto de Monachil climb.
All three had something to be satisfied with: Poels ran Valverde the closest after regaining contact with Sebastian Reichenbach (FDJ). Given his track record in last year's early season Vuelta a Valencia, where he won the two hardest stages (one a time trial, one an uphill finish) and the overall, the Dutchman is arguably the most dangerous of Valverde's rivals.
Rosa, on his first day's racing with Team Sky, was the best placed at the top of the climb and quickest to catch Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) as they hammered after Valverde. He finally placed fourth. Landa, meanwhile, was a little off the pace at the bottom, finishing five seconds behind the leading group of six, but had shown he has hit the ground running in 2017 with some punchy attacks on the ascent to Monachil.
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"It's not a bad result. I'd prefer to win, but he was strong in the sprint," Poels said of Valverde to Cyclingnews after warming down. "I didn't know the climb, but we had a good day with the team. We were motoring on the front there."
Asked whether he felt he was as strong as in Valencia last year, Poels baulked slightly, saying, "Valverde and Contador were very strong today. I was suffering a little bit on the climb, but I came back again, and tomorrow [stage 3] we will see."
He was guarded about which of the two stages - the uphill finish at Mancha Real or the time trial on Friday - could be more important for the GC, saying simply "both."
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