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Alejandro Valverde shows the peloton a clean set of wheels. Photo ©Sirotti

Donostia - Donostia, 219.2 km

The Race: What a terrific race! With a little more than three kilometers to go Alejandro Valverde attacked the break he was in and soloed to the finish fourteen seconds ahead of his nearest chasers.

The first move to stick was made by Caja Rural rider Amets Txurruka, who was gone before the race was 40 kilometers old. Though he had been allowed a gap of six minutes, with 65 kms remaining, he had less than two minutes in hand.

Txurruka was caught on the first ascent of the Jaizkibel that saw seven riders get clear: Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Laurens Ten Dam (Belkin), Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale), Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma), David Lopez (Sky), Alberto Losada (Katusha), Matteo Monteguti (Ag2r). Though it was a quality break, the pack wasn't going to let it run away with the race.

On the Arkale, with 30 km to go, the seven were captured. Astana rider Andrey Grivko put in a huge effort on the climb and escaped, at one point getting a lead of more than a half-minute. But that was not to be either and a Katusha-led peloton reeled in Grivko with 14 km to go.

That left things to be decided on the tiny, tree-shaded road going up the Bordako Tontorra with its 9% gradient. Joaquin Rodriguez blasted away, going so fast he had to shoo the photographer's motorcycle out of the way. Alejandro Valverde was up to Rodriguez very quickly and soon also were Bauke Mollema, Mikel Nieve and Adam Yates.

On the descent Yates crashed and Valverde made himself scarce. Valverde pounded out the few remaining kilometers with his hands up on the brake levers. That was the race. He had time to zip up his jersey and give a two-armed salute to the crowd.

Rodriguez led out the sprint for second, but Bauke Mollema was easily the fastest of the chasing trio.

Complete Results:

Winner's average speed: 39.712 km/hr

1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	5hr 31min 11sec
2	Bauke Mollema	Belkin	@ 14 seconds
3	Joaquim Rodriguez	Katusha	s.t.
4	Mikel Nieve	SKY	s.t.
5	Tony Gallopin	Lotto-Belisol	26″
6	Jelle Vanendert	Lotto-Belisol	s.t.
7	Haimar Zubeldia	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
8	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC	40″
9	Giovanni Visconti	Movistar	s.t.
10	Zdenek Stybar	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	43″
11	Alexandr Kolobnev	Katusha	s.t.
12	Arnold Jeannesson	FDJ	s.t.
13	Jose Serpa	Lampre-Merida	s.t.
14	Tom Jelte Slagter	Garmin-Sharp	s.t.
15	Anthony Roux	FDJ	s.t.
16	Tanel Kangert	Astana	s.t.
17	Thomas Voeckler	Europcar	s.t.
18	Romain Bardet	Ag2r	s.t.
19	Kristijan Durasek	Lampre-Merida	s.t.
20	Nicolas Roche	Tinkoff-Saxo	s.t.
21	Steven Kruijswijk	Belkin	49″
22	Alessandro De Marchi	Cannondale	54″
23	Pieter Serry	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	1' 35″
24	Jens Keukeleire	Orica-GreenEdge	s.t.
25	Daniel Martin	Garmin-Sharp	s.t.
26	Maxim Iglinskiy	Astana	s.t.
27	Romain Sicard	Europcar	s.t.
28	Jan Bakelants	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	s.t.
29	André Cardoso	Garmin-Sharp	1' 40″
30	Nelson Oliveira	Lampre-Merida	2′05″
31	Daan Olivier	Giant-Shimano	s.t.
32	Michael Albasini	Orica-GreenEdge	s.t.
33	Eugenio Alafaci	Trek Factory Racing	2' 44″
34	Patrick Gretsch	Ag2r	s.t.
35	Chris Anker Sorensen	Tinkoff-Saxo	2' 59″
36	Cyril Gautier	Europcar	s.t.
37	Laurent Didier	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
38	Pello Bilbao	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
39	Jesus Herrada	Movistar	s.t.
40	Stijn Devolder	Trek Factory Racing	3′10″
41	Ivan Rovny	Tinkoff-Saxo	s.t.
42	Stef Clement	Belkin	3′25″
43	Adam Yates	Orica-GreenEdge	3′57″
44	Tim Wellens	Lotto-Belisol	4′3″
45	Dennis Vanendert	Lotto-Belisol	s.t.
46	Louis Verbaeke	Lotto-Belisol	4′11″
47	Pavel Kochetkov	Katusha	s.t.
48	Igor Anton	Movistar	5′29″
49	Jose Herrada	Movistar	s.t.
50	David Lopez	SKY	s.t.
51	Mikel Landa	Astana	s.t.
52	Alberto Losada	Katusha	s.t.
53	Yury Trofimov	Katusha	s.t.
54	Andriy Grivko	Astana	s.t.
55	Thomas Damuseau	Giant-Shimano	s.t.
56	Mikael Cherel	Ag2r	s.t.
57	Laurens Ten Dam	Belkin	s.t.
58	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC	s.t.
59	Michal Golas	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	6′11″
60	Christian Knees	SKY	6′33″
61	Rinaldo Nocentini	Ag2r	8′00″
62	Matteo Montaguti	Ag2r	s.t.
63	Fabio Sabatini	Cannondale	11′36″
64	Jesper Hansen	Tinkoff-Saxo	s.t.
65	Nathan Earle	SKY	s.t.
66	Jan Polanc	Lampre-Merida	s.t.
67	Valerio Agnoli	Astana	s.t.
68	Boy Van Poppel	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
69	Markel Irizar	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
70	Dylan Van Baarle	Garmin-Sharp	s.t.
71	Lluis Mas	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
72	David Arroyo	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
73	Amaël Moinard	BMC	s.t.
74	Antonio Piedra	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	14′24″
75	Aleksandr Kuschynski	Katusha	s.t.
76	Amets Txurruka	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
77	Tosh Van Der Sande	Lotto-Belisol	s.t.
78	Axel Domont	Ag2r	s.t.
79	Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg	Giant-Shimano	s.t.
80	Carlos Verona	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	s.t.
81	Edward Beltran	Tinkoff-Saxo	s.t.
82	Chad Haga	Giant-Shimano	s.t.
83	Kenny Elissonde	FDJ	s.t.
84	Jeremy Roy	FDJ	s.t.
85	Dmitry Kozontchuk	Katusha	s.t.
86	Yukiya Arashiro	Europcar	s.t.
87	Jasper Stuyven	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
88	Lawson Craddock	Giant-Shimano	s.t.
89	Hubert Dupont	Ag2r	s.t.
90	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana	s.t.
91	Tom Stamsnijder	Giant-Shimano	s.t.
92	Simon Geschke	Giant-Shimano	14′51″
93	Javier Aramendia	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	16′02″
94	Fernando Grijalba	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
95	Antonio Molina	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s/t/

Photos:

Andrey Grivko's break looked good for a while. Photo ©Sirotti

Movistar and Katusha kept things bottled up pretty tightly. Photo © Sirotti

They're waaay back there...Photo ©Sirotti

Bauke Mollema (Belkin) wins the sprint for second place. Photo ©Sirotti

Joaquin Rodriguez had to settle for third. Photo ©Sirotti

Alejandro Valverde displays the results when the strongest man rides a perfect race. Photo ©Sirotti

2014 podium, from left: Bauke Mollema, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquin Rodriguez. Photo © Sirotti

Live Updates:

Weather at San Sebastian at 4:05 PM local time: Beautiful day for a bike race: 26C (78F), sunny, wind from the north at 11 km/hr (7 mph). Humidity 57%

The finish: Valverde zips up his jersey and takes the victory after a perfectly executed attack. Rodriguez leads out the sprint for second, and Mollema comes around him. Greg Van Avermaet wins the field sprint.

1 km to go: Valverde looks good. He's got his hands on the tops of the brake levers and leads the chasing trio by 11 seconds.

2 km to go: Valverde has 6 seconds.

3 km to go: Poo! Adam Yates crashed on the descent. Valverde is alone, off the front.

5 km to go: Valverde and Rodriguez are together on the descent. Bauke Mollema, Mikel Nieve and Adam Yates have made it up to Rodriguez and Valverde.

7 km to go: Joaquin Rodriguez is off the front. He waves the camera motocycle away. Alejandro Valverde makes it up to Rodriguez. Albasini isn't far behind. No, it's Adam Yates and Mikel Nieve.

8 km to go: Kolobnev has 16 seconds. Several riders are scrambling to get up to Kolobnev. Mikel Nieve (Sky) goes right on by Kolobnev. Here comes Rodriguez and Valverde.

9 km to go: 9% gradient. Kolobnev (Katusha) attacks. It's a tiny road.

10 km to go: On the final climb on a narrow tree-shaded road. It's gruppo compatto, led by Ag2r.

14 km to go: Katusha riders leading the pack catch Grivko. Belkin and Lotto are moving up.

16 km to go: The race is coursing along the beachfront. Grivko starts the finishing loop with only 7 seconds.

18 km to go: Katusha joins the chase and the peloton is nose to butt. Grivko still has 24 seconds.

20 km to go: Grivko is turning a big-assed gear and has pushed the gap out to 36 seconds. Movistar still has several riders at the front of the peloton. Grivko tightens both shoes.

22 km to go: 29 seconds! Movistar is at the front of the peloton.

24 km to go: Grivko is muscling his bike, all over it. He's got 16 seconds. Now 22 seconds.

31 km to go: On the 6.3% Arkale it looks like all the breakaways have been brought back. On the descent it looks like Katusha and Orica on the front. The peloton is lined out. An Astana rider looks like he's trying his luck. It's Andrey Grivko.

32 km to go: Bam! There goes Albasini.

34 km to go: It looks like the pack has decided this break is not going to be allowed to run away with the race.The break is climbing again, but they have only 11 seconds on a Simon Gerrans- and Michael Albasini-led peloton. Gerrans looks serious as he goes about dishing out a full helping of pain.

40 km to go: Orica-Greenedge missed this break and are helping to control the gap, which is 34 seconds. Trek is helping the chase as well.

So, off the front: Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Laurens Ten Dam (Belkin), Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale), Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma), David Lopez (Sky), Alberto Losada (Katusha), Matteo Monteguti (Ag2r)

45 km to go: The chasing trio has closed the gap up to the lead quartet. The bridging trio is Jan Bakelenats, Alberto Losada, and Laurens Ten Dam. That makes seven pretty strong riders. They are 48 seconds ahead of the peloton.

49 km to go: The chasing trio (no names yet) are within 12 seconds of the Visconti quartet as they negotiate the twisting Jaizkibel descent. It looks like the quartet is working well together. The peloton is about 42 seconds behind the leaders.

54 km to go: The main peloton went over the crest about a half-minute after the four leaders. There is a trio in the middle trying to bridge.

55 km to go: Sky rider David Lopez-Garcia has gone clear on the Jaizkibel with another kilometer of hill left. He's been joined by Giovanni Visconti, Matteo Monteguti and Alessandro de Marchi.

60 km to go: Txurruka is caught and there are still five Movistar riders at the front of the field as they ascend the Jaizkibel. The peleton is still faily good-sized.

61.2 km to go: Txurruka is on the Jaizkibel climb but I don't think he'll be allowed many more moments of freedom. His gap is only 8 seconds. There have been some notable abandons including Peter Sagan and Philippe Gilbert.

64.4 km to go out of 219.2 km: Caja Rural rider Amets Txurruka scooted off the front before the race was thirty kilometers old. He's 1min 45sec in front of a Movistar-led field.

Clásica San Sebastian profile:

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Start list with dossards (back numbers), July 31, 2014:

	LOTTO-BELISOL
	Manager: Mario Aerts
1	Tony Gallopin
2	Stig Broeckx
3	Sean De Bie
4	Tosh Van Der Sande
5	Louis Verbaeke
6	Dennis Vanendert
7	Jelle Vanendert
8	Tim Wellens
	OMEGA PHARMA - QUICK-STEP
	Manager: Davide Bramati
11	Zdenek Stybar
12	Julian Alaphilippe
13	Jan Bakelants
14	Michal Golas
15	Gianni Meersman
16	Julien Vermote
17	Pieter Serry
18	Carlos Verona
	MOVISTAR
	Manager: José Luis Arrieta
21	Alejandro Valverde
22	Igor Anton
23	Jonathan Castroviejo
24	Jesus Herrada
25	Jose Herrada
26	Beñat Intxausti
27	Joaquin Rojas Jose
28	Giovanni Visconti
	TINKOFF-SAXO
	Managers: Philippe Maduit
31	Nicolas Roche
32	Michael Valgren
33	Jesper Hansen
34	Edward Beltran
35	Chris Anker Sorensen
36	Sergio Paulinho
37	Michael Rogers
38	Ivan Rovny
	Ag2r-La Mondiale
	Manager: Didier Janner
41	Jean-Christophe Peraud
42	Romain Bardet
43	Hubert Dupont
44	Ben Gastauer
45	Julian Kern
46	Mikael Cherel
47	Matteo Montaguti
48	Rinaldo Nocentini
	KATUSHA TEAM
	Manager: José Azevedo
51	Joaquim Rodriguez
52	Vladimir Gusev
53	Alexandr Kolobnev
54	Dmitry Kozontchuk
55	Aleksandr Kuschynski
56	Alberto Losada
57	Daniel Moreno
58	Yury Trofimov
	BMC RACING TEAM
	Managers: Valerio Piva
61	Philippe Gilbert
62	Tejay Van Garderen
63	Darwin Atapuma
64	Silvan Dillier
65	Martin Kohler
66	Daniel Oss
67	Peter Stetina
68	Greg Van Avermaet
	BELKIN PRO CYCLING TEAM
	Manager: Erik Dekker
71	Bauke Mollema
72	Laurens Ten Dam
73	Lars Boom
74	Stef Clement
75	Jonathan Hivert
76	Steven Kruijswijk
77	Jos Van Emden
78	Nick Van Der Lijke
	TEAM SKY
	Manager: Dan Frost
81	Mikel Nieve
82	Ian Boswell
83	Nathan Earle
84	Vasil Kiryienka
85	Christian Knees
86	David Lopez
87	Danny Pate
88	Xabier Zandio
	TREK FACTORY RACING
	Manager: Kim Andersen
91	Haimar Zubeldia
92	Frank Schleck
93	Eugenio Alafaci
94	Stijn Devolder
95	Laurent Didier
96	Boy Van Poppel
97	Markel Irizar
98	Jasper Stuyven
	LAMPRE - MERIDA
	Manager: Joxean 'Matxin'  Fernandez
101	Davide Cimolai
102	Kristijan Durasek
103	Elia Favilli
104	Jan Polanc
105	Ariel Maximiliano Richeze
106	Nelson Oliveira
107	Jose Serpa
108	Rafael Valls
	ORICA GREENEDGE
	Manager: Neil Stephens
111	Michael Albasini
112	Matthew Goss
113	Damien Howson
114	Leigh Howard
115	Jens Keukeleire
116	Jens Mouris
117	Adam Yates
118	Simon Yates
	GARMIN - SHARP
	Manager: Bingen Fernandez
121	André Cardoso
122	Tom Jelte Slagter
123	Daniel Martin
124	Lachlan Morton
125	Ramunas Navardauskas
126	Nick Nuyens
127	Dylan Van Baarle
128	Johan Van Summeren
	TEAM GIANT - SHIMANO
	Manager: Addy Engels
131	Simon Geschke
132	Lawson Craddock
133	Thomas Damuseau
135	Chad Haga
136	Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
137	Daan Olivier
138	Tom Stamsnijder
	ASTANA PRO TEAM
	Manager: Giuseppe Martinelli
141	Lieuwe Westra
142	Borut Bozic
143	Valerio Agnoli
144	Andriy Grivko
145	Maxim Iglinskiy
146	Tanel Kangert
147	Mikel Landa
148	Alexey Lutsenko
	CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM
	Manager: Mariuzzo Dario
151	Peter Sagan
152	Alberto Bettiol
153	Maciej Bodnar
154	Alessandro De Marchi
155	Michel Koch
156	Paolo Longo Borghini
157	Fabio Sabatini
158	Jean Marc Marino
	EQUIPE CYCLISTE FDJ.fr
	Manager: Yvon Madiot
161	Pierrick Fedrigo
162	Mickael Delage
163	Kenny Elissonde
164	Arnold Jeannesson
165	Anthony Roux
166	Jeremy Roy
167	Benoit Vaugrenard
168	Arthur Vichot
	TEAM EUROPCAR
	Manager: Andy Flickinger
171	Pierre Rolland
172	Yukiya Arashiro
173	Cyril Gautier
174	Fabrice Jeandesboz
175	Alexandre Pichot
176	Perrig Quemeneur
177	Thomas Voeckler
178	Romain Sicard
	CAJA RURAL - SEGUROS RGA
	Manager: Eugenio Goikoetxea
181	David Arroyo
182	Amets Txurruka
183	Javier Aramendia
184	Pello Bilbao
185	Antonio Molina
186	Fernando Grijalba
187	Lluis Mas
188	Antonio Piedra