Work unrewarded in Donostia
14 August 2012

Clásica San Sebastián

Disorder at final selection gives victory to Luis León Sánchez (RAB) at the Boulevard, with Valverde into the group of favourites after fine work from Movistar Team

The 32nd Clásica San Sebastián left a sour-sweet taste for Movistar Team after the 234k -over six categorized climbs including thr two passes through Jaizkibel (Cat. 1) and Arkale (Cat. 2), in the province of Gipuzkoa. The squad directed by José Luis Arrieta showed their good legs in front of the upcoming Vuelta a España, showing themselves at the front with Nairo Quintana in the fight for the points of the King of the Mountains classification. The Colombian, back to racing two months after his victory in the Route du Sud, ended up in 2nd place after leading the climb towards Garate (Cat. 2) as well as the first ascent towards Jaizkibel.

After that, the team-mates of Alejandro Valverde, with special honour from Javi Moreno and Vladimir Karpets in the final section between Jaizkibel and Arkale, took the effort to keep under control a race that was left into the hands of the 30-man group that reached together the final summit. However, disorder between the favourites gave a good chance to Luis León Sánchez (RAB), who took the race after a solo attack with 9k from the finish with seven seconds over Valverde’s group, the Murcian proving to be ready for the Vuelta, which starts in Pamplona on Saturday.