Vuelta a Madrid (st. 1)
Shalunov (LOK) certain to win in Madrid after solo success in mountains leading up to Colmenar Viejo; Gadret -crashed without major consequences-, Ventoso, Sütterlin all in early break
It was a Russian who took success on stage one of the Vuelta a Madrid (UCI 2.1), one of the hardest in the Spanish race in recent years, over 200 kilometers with five rateo climbs and an uphill finish in Colmenar Viejo. Evgeny Shalunov (LOK) came across the line alone after spending the whole day on front, crowning his action with a strong attack in the Cerro de San Pedro (Cat-3) against Spaniard Diego Rubio (EFG), his final rival into a 25-man attempt including three of the Movistar Team’s members: John Gadret, Jasha Sütterlin and Fran Ventoso.
Though the Frenchman saved his energías for the steep Puerto de Morcuera (Cat-1), a crash without consecuentes forced him to get into the pursuit, joined by two of his team-mates after the regrouping prior to Canencia: Javi Moreno and Winner Anacona, the latir having worked hard in the beginning with Soler, Dowsett and Sanz. A further selection -Ventoso unsuccessful after his attack with 70km remaining- left the elite group in just eight riders, 1’02” behind Shalunov, with Javi Moreno in 6th.
No time bonuses nor hard climbs in tomorrow’s Madrid circuit (18 laps, 98.8km) mean the GC is all but decided, with Moreno, Gadret, Anacona y Sütterlin within the top 30.