Amador best Blue at chaotic ‘De Ronde’
07 April 2014

Tour of Flanders

33rd place for Costa Rican after lots of crashes and incidents in second Monument of cycling season. 9th place for Lastras in Vuelta a La Rioja

Fabian Cancellara (TFR) has conquered the 98th Ronde van Vlaanderen, one of the most chaotic races in recent times after loads of crashes and nervous moments which the Movistar Team riders could not avoid. The telephone squad fought to make the day’s early break with Alex Dowsett, who jumped away with less than 3k covered on the 259-kilometer route from Bruges to Oudenaarde -featuring 17 climbs and six extra cobbled sections-.

The Brit was caught before suffering a crash with no major consequences, the first main incidents for the Blues as they later got involved in a pile-up at the 150th kilometer. None of them, but Fran Ventoso and Andrey Amador, was able to bridge back before a regrouping set them back in track.

Despite his good feelings, always riding up-front, Juanjo Lobato wasn’t able to get through the selection of the first Oude Kwaremont + Paterberg passage. Amador, who did make the favourites’ group after the earlier crash, struggled in both ascents as well as in the Koppenberg, and had to change his bike due to a mechanical that took costly time and energy for him.

The decisive move by Cancellara in the last ascent towards the Kwaremont launched him into the lead of the race alongside three Belgians: Greg Van Avermaet (BMC, 2nd across the finish), Sep Vanmarcke (BEL, 3rd) and Stijn Vandenbergh (OPQ, 4th). Andrey couldn’t profit from another regrouping to improve his result and finished with the first big bunch (33rd), almost two minutes back. Imanol Erviti was the other Blue able to complete the course within time limit.

Lastras, Herrada contest Logroño’s sprint
Enrique Sanz couldn’t fight for victory today in the 54th Vuelta a la Rioja, the 164km route in and around Logroño left on the hands of the sprinters as Michael Matthews (OGE) came victorious in front of Francesco Lasca (CJR) and Carlos Barbero (EUK). A mechanical avoided the young Spaniard entering a volata which the Orica riders worked for intensely from the beginning of the morning, and which Movistar Team tried to break with an early move by Antón, Lastras and Jesús Herrada. The latter two came out as the best Blues of the day, 9th and 11th respectively.