Cycle 21
Caleb Ewan It was the top favorite to succeed the Argentine in the race Eduardo Sepúlveda. And he lived up to expectations. The Australian from Jayco, with just one single victory –in the Tour of Oman– in 2024, he achieved the second after an unpleasant season for him. The sprinter left the Giro d'Italia -his last race- without any success under his belt. But his return to competition in Castile and León has brought him new joy. He had no rival or opposition in the sprint, clearly winning ahead of Davide Cimolai (2nd) of the set Movistar and Jenthe Bermans (3rd) of the Arkea.
The Spanish sprint race was as expected. The team Arkea dominated the arrival together with the cyclists of the Jayco who appeared 5 km from the finish line at the front of the peloton. Their job was to leave Caleb Ewan in the best position, in this case on the third wheel of the train formed by Arkea, to compete in the sprint. Having overcome the steepest stretch of the finish, the Australian launched his sprint with 150 meters remaining. Jon Aberasturi (6th) was the best Spaniard and Manuel Peñálver completed the top-10.
The runners had to complete nearly 200 kilometers in the 38th edition of the race. A long distance that forced the escapees to give their all over several hours of constant effort. After an initial cut of seven runners, only Unai Cuadrado, Carlos García Pierna -whose birthday was today-, Nicolás Ulastiza and Edgar Curto They survived the first two climbs of the day. With 42 km to go, only García Pierna attempted to keep up with the peloton alone. But it was truly difficult for him to do anything alone. With 16 km to go, he was neutralized by the strong pace of the peloton, which was preparing for the sprint finish.
STATEMENTS:
Caleb Ewan: “On paper, it looked like a pretty easy day, but it's harder when you factor in the heat. At some points, when I looked at my Garmin, it was 43 and 44 degrees, so it was really hot today. The climb in the sprint also made it harder, but I think it suited me really well, and my team did a great job today. We really controlled the race from the start, and then I'm happy to have been able to finish it. I knew the UAE would try something on the final climb because they don't have a sprinter here. I expected it to be aggressive, but my team did a great job keeping the attacks under control and making it a sprint. The Vuelta a España was one of my first big wins as a professional, so it's also nice to come back and race in Spain.”
Davide Cimolai"A podium finish is always special. It was a good finish for my abilities and a good second place. We'll try for it in the next races."
Clément Alleno: The break formed very quickly, at kilometer zero of the race. The seven riders worked well together in the relays. On the first climb, I could only manage third, but I was able to analyze the rest of the rivals and felt I was the fastest in the group. On the second climb, I got on the wheel of Alustiza, who had won earlier, and I overtook him to take the points. On the third, which was cobblestone, I fought with García Pierna and won again. Afterwards, we were four riders in the lead, and I was able to win the fourth mountain sprint as well, securing this award. On the final climb, I was with Carlos García Pierna and told him he could go solo if he wanted, as I would try to finish the race calmly and save energy for the Ordizia Classic on Thursday. When the peloton caught me, I tried to help the team and bring some water to my teammates. I haven't run in this much heat since last year. "You have to drink a lot and pour water on your head, legs, and the rest of your body every ten minutes to stay hydrated. It was a tough day, but I'm very happy with how I feel. It's an important race for the team, as we're riding near Burgos, and having a rider in front of us fighting in the mountains is a positive thing. Now it's time to recover, and in Ordizia, I think I can have a good race."
David González"We knew the sprint finish was more or less guaranteed, and we worked hard to fight for the win against some very strong rivals. The heat also made the race, already long and challenging, much harder. I'm very happy because it's always special to come home and race, and today in front of my whole family."
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