Vuelta a Andalucía (st. 1A)
Lobato, Moreno -both with blows and bruises- sustain crashes as two successive pile-ups overshadow morning stage in Ruta del Sol
Dutchman Pim Ligthart (LTS) won solo ahead of a selected peloton this Wednesday morning at Hinojos, end of a short, 119km morning sector which opened the 51st edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía – Ruta del Sol. The finish was fully conditioned by a series of crashes in the closing stages, affecting more than one hundred riders and hitting two of the Movistar Team riders present: Juanjo Lobato and Javi Moreno.
The young sprinter, the most affected of the two Blues, suffered two blows of diverse consideration in his body -a wound in his forehead was the most visible one-, but most importantly couldn't contest one of the three stages most suited to him on this year's race. In turn, the Jaén-based rider had some bruises all over his body, but as Lobato, he won't have any troubles getting back on the bike for this afternoon's 8.2km ITT in and around Coria del Río. Intxausti (20th) made part of the selected first group.
Picture ©: Fran Reyes / arueda.com (not to reproduce without authorization)