Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) started this year's Ruta del Sol exactly as he polished it off last year: as the race leader and with a stage victory. The Spaniard won the opening stage in a six-man sprint ahead of Sky's Wout Poels and Sebastian Reichenbach (FDJ).
Valverde said after the finish in Granada, "we couldn't have got off to a better start," although he also warned, "any of the riders who are ahead now on GC could win on tomorrow's [stage 2] summit finish." In that case, the ball could be in somebody else's court.
As the leader, Valverde is in pole position to take such a stage victory. On Saturday Valverde clinched a superb win in the Vuelta a Murcia one-day race, and so is clearly in impressive form. His four previous overall wins in the Ruta del Sol also make him the favourite.
ADVERTISEMENT
Form-wise Valverde always seems to start his season strongly in the mountains. Aside from his 70-kilometer gallop over a first category climb, the Collado Bermejo, in Murcia on Saturday, his final stage triumph in the Ruta del Sol last year at the summit of Cumbres del Sol was netted when he broke away alone on what is, on paper, a much harder climb. He still won by a considerable margin for February – 36 seconds –against no less a rival than Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).
Valverde played a clever strategic game on the Alto de Monachil on stage 1 Wednesday, responding to all of Alberto Contador's attacks, sitting on wheels to regain strength when he needed to, then blasting away with his one real attack just before the summit. After sitting up and waiting for Ion Izagirre (Bahrein-Merida) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo), the 37-year-old still had the strength to take a classy stage win in Granada.
"It's been a very hard day, particularly as Trek-Segafredo laid down a very fast pace throughout the stage," Valverde told reporters between bouts of receiving a seemingly non-stop stream of awards at the finish.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2kNSkQP
No comments:
Post a Comment