After the Olympic races, the cycling calendar resumed in a more traditional way this Monday. The Vuelta a Burgos began on Spanish territory, and Groupama-FDJ proved active in the first stage made for the sprinters. After being put in a good position by his teammates in the last kilometre, Matt Walls was however unable to join the bunch sprint due to a mechanical issue in the very last moments. On Tuesday, the finish will be more explosive in Ojo Guareña.
There were surely a few climbs on the menu of the opening stage of the Tour de Burgos this Monday. However, they definitely weren’t enough to prevent a bunch sprint, and a very usual scenario therefore took place from the start Vilviestre del Pinar, and throughout the 168 kilometres leading to Burgos. Rodrigo Alvarez (Burgos-BH), Iker Mintegi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti Kometa) took the lead early, and the main sprinters teams took control. “They set a tempo all day and nothing special happened,” said Thierry Bricaud. “The only thing we can say is that it was really hot, but that is specific to the Burgos region.” The leading trio never got much more than a two-minute lead, and it was caught even before entering the last ten kilometres. With numbers at the front of the pack, Groupama-FDJ tried to get into position for the final. “Everyone wanted to give Matt a sprint, the guys showed great commitment, including our climbers like Rémy”, added Thierry Bricaud.
“They showed motivation”, Thierry Bricaud
After solid pulls from Olivier Le Gac and Lorenzo Germani to get over the final uphill section two kilometres from the finish, the French climber did indeed make his contribution, and Matt Walls was therefore able to enter the last kilometre in the first five positions. “Unfortunately, the sprint was a bit hectic, and it didn’t go as we would have liked”, explained Thierry. “He was hit by another rider 300 metres to go, he got a bit scared, and he unclipped. He lost speed, and his sprint was over from then on. It’s a pity but everyone was involved. Even if we don’t really have a team to lead out the sprint, they did their job well and showed motivation. It’s good for the future.” However, the British rider should not have the opportunity to sprint before the final stage on Friday, while Pavel Bittner (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) took the win on the opening one. Tomorrow, on stage 2, the finish line will come after 1,300 metres averaging 4.5%.
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