Matis Louvel wins solo in Castile and León / AS

First professional victory for this French Arkea-Samsic rider, who succeeds the Italian Davide Cimolai in the race's record.

He French rider from the Arkea-Samsic team made the most of the day's breakaway to win solo at the finish line in Ponferrada (León) in the XXXV International Cycling Tour of Castilla y León ahead of Italian Stefano Oldani and Uruguayan Mauricio MoreiraThe race has returned to the national calendar after a year-long hiatus due to the pandemic. It was held in a single 181.2-kilometer stage between León and Ponferrada, with 16 cycling teams participating (four UCI World Teams, seven UCI Pro Teams, and five UCI Continental teams).

The Victory came from a nine-man breakaway that formed around kilometer 50 of the route, whose members managed to reach the final stretch with optionsAmong them were the winner of the race himself, Matis Louvel (Arkea Samsic), Pier Cote (Rally Cycling), Nickolas Zukowky (Rally Cycling), Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team), Juan A. López (Burgos-BH), Bram Welten (Arkea Samsic), Thomas Amstrong (Electro Hiper Europa), Mauricio Moreira (Efapel) and Jakub Boucek (Israel Cycling). 

The Nine reached the top of Foncebadón, a second category climb and the main mountain peak of the day, with a 3 minute and 40 second lead over the peloton, although the work of teams such as Astana led to the advantage being reduced to around two minutes.After the descent to Molinaseca, the breakaway riders maintained their gap to the peloton, and "the kilometers, the terrain, and the high temperatures took their toll on the breakaway riders," reducing the group to four riders. Behind them, a chasing group formed with another twelve riders, including Stefano Oldani (Lotto Soudal), who eventually finished in second place.

A An unexpected fall by Mauricio Moreira and Nickolas Zukowsky left Matis Louvel alone with the possibility of leading the race, and thus he opened a gap to reach the finish line in Ponferrada alone., which would be the first professional victory for this French rider from Arkea-Samsic, who succeeds the Italian Davide Cimolai, winner of the Vuelta in 2019. The second to cross the finish line would be the Italian Stefano Oldani (Lotto Soudal), who in the end would be the strongest rider in the chasing group, followed by the Efapel cyclist Mauricio Moreira, another survivor of the breakaway.

As for the The best team in this XXXV International Cycling Tour of Castilla y León will go to the American team Rally Cycling. The overall mountain classification has been awarded to Nickolas Zukowsky, while the intermediate sprints have gone to Antonio Angulo., from Caja Rural Seguros RGA. The best U-23 was the winner of the Castilian-Leonese round, Matis Louvel.