The North of Castile<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best Spaniard, Iv\u00e1n Garc\u00eda Cortina, finished fourth, after being one of the four protagonists of the final sprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
German rider Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla) took the first leader's jersey of the 27th International Cycling Tour of Castile and Le\u00f3n<\/a>, after a day of 168.9 kilometers, starting and finishing in Soria. The German achieved a time of 4:01:09 and beat the sprint in the closing meters of the stage, led by Italian Alessandro Fedeli, Dutchman Alex Moleenar, and the best-placed Spaniard, Iv\u00e1n Garc\u00eda Cortina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five riders had a lead of up to five minutes and 40 seconds over the peloton at the start of the stage: Jetse Bol (Burgos), \u00cd\u00f1igo Elosegui (Kern Pharma), Abel Baldestone (Caja Rural Seguros RGA), August Jensen (Human Powered Health), and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Garc\u00eda (Electro Hiper Europa). However, shortly after, Movistar Team and Jayco AlUla closed the gap to within 30 seconds; while Frenchman Jeremy Cabot caught up with the breakaways and went on to wage war on his own, beating them by just over a minute and a half with 30 kilometers remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of the French cyclist's efforts were dashed just five kilometers from the finish line, as he was caught by the group. The final stretch into the city of Soria, which was constantly uphill, caused the riders to fall behind, and only four managed to fight for the overall victory. Felix Engelhardt was far superior in the final sprint, beating the other three riders who were in contention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Thursday afternoon the second stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Le\u00f3n will take place, starting from the town of Coca and will end in the city of Segovia<\/a>The runners will cover 186 kilometres, with the toughest sections being the climbs to Navacerrada (1,847 metres) and Navafr\u00eda (1,769 metres).<\/p>\n\n\n\n