2017 Gran Premio Miguel Induráin (1.1), Spain
19th Edition, Saturday, April 1, 2017
GP Miguel Induráin historic results | 2016 edition | 2018 edition | Course map
Estella - Estella, 186 km
Simon Yates gets the solo win
The Race: Here's the report from winner Simon Yates' Orica-Scott team.
Paris-Nice stage winner Simon Yates attacked to claim a solo victory today for Orica-Scott at Gran Premio Miguel Indurain in Spain.
The 24-year-old launched away from a reduced front group at a perfect moment with 10kilometres to go and impressively worked to increase his advantage until the finish line, to take his second victory of the season.
“It was a hard race today, at the start with the wind and the rain but the team rode really well, protecting me at all times,” Yates said after his victory. “Roman Kreuziger went into the main break which was great for us, it meant we could sit in the wheels and save energy.”
“On the climbs the guys were always there and we made it a hard race so I am extremely happy to win today. Next I have Pais Vasco and I hope I can ride well there and maybe get another victory, I am looking forward to it.”
With Orica-Scott well represented in every move of the day, sport director Dave McPartland was pleased with the team’s commitment and aggressive attitude towards making it a hard race.
“The whole team were impressive today, we really made it a hard race and made the race go our way,” said McPartland. “We had everyone in the breaks, even in the smaller early breaks and this helped put pressure on other teams. In the final, the race was splitting after Roman’s group came back, so we knew we had to be aggressive on that final circuit.
“We were the most represented at the front in the final and Damien Howson did a really great job of keeping the small front group away. On the final climb Yates attacked for the second time, he clearly had the legs again and he really deserved this win.
“He picked the right moments to attack and was even putting time into the group when he went away solo, so it really shows he is in great shape. When you race aggressively, you actively make things happen and go your way. That was our attitude today and it paid off.”
How it happened:
Cold, rainy conditions awaited riders at the start in Estella today and the 186kilometre race kicked off with a fast pace with the peloton strung out in one line for the opening kilometres.
Michael Hepburn rode himself in the first breakaway of the day, alongside Aitor Gonzalez (Euskadi), Juan Perez (W52) and Peeter Pruus (Rietumu), and the quadruplet rode out to a maximum advantage of one-minute 15seconds.
Despite their efforts the peloton were not happy with the leaders and they were swallowed up by the peloton after the first hour of racing. Shortly after, a new lead group formed, with Czech champion Kreuziger represented for Orica-Scott.
Over the lumpy terrain, Kreuziger and two others, Matvey Mamykin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Nick Schultz (Caja-Rural) distanced themselves from the other breakaway riders and led the race as the others were swallowed by the peloton.
Movistar set a fast tempo over the undulating roads and quickly ate away at the trios advantage, eventually catching them with 50kilometres remaining. Yates was next and tried an attack on the second ascent to Ibarra, taking with him one Movistar rider, however it wasn’t enough and they where quickly consumed by the now reduced bunch.
As more and more attacks came, finally a group of nine riders, with all the main teams represented, successfully jumped away with just 20kilometres remaining. It included Yates, Howson and Carlos Verona for Orica-Scott.
Howson worked to make sure the group stayed away and once their lead was above 30seconds, with 10km to go, the determined British rider attacked once again and successfully rode away from the reduced front group.
In a repeat of his recent performance at Paris-Nice, Yates quickly opened up his advantage and held on to take another victory for Orica-Scott.
Capping off a successful day for the entire team, Verona also crossed the line a respectable fourth place.
Complete Results:
186 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.727 km/hr
| 1 | YATES, Simon | ORICA SCOTT | 4hr 34min 1sec |
| 2 | WOODS, Michael | CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | @ 23sec |
| 3 | HENAO, Sergio Luis | SKY | s.t. |
| 4 | VERONA, Carlos | ORICA SCOTT | @ 26sec |
| 5 | SOLER, Marc | MOVISTAR | @ 28sec |
| 6 | KIRYIENKA, Vasil | SKY | @ 58sec |
| 7 | FERNANDEZ, Ruben | MOVISTAR | @ 1min 44sec |
| 8 | IZAGIRRE, Gorka | MOVISTAR | s.t. |
| 9 | HOWSON, Damien | ORICA SCOTT | 2:56 |
| 10 | SKUJINS, Toms | CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | 3:50 |
| 11 | GEOGHEGAN, Tao | SKY | 3:53 |
| 12 | ROSON, Jaime | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 13 | HOWES, Alex | CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | s.t. |
| 14 | BRAVO, Garikoitz | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY | 3:55 |
| 15 | GOLAS, Michal | SKY | s.t. |
| 16 | POWER, Robert | ORICA SCOTT | 4:03 |
| 17 | VALVERDE, Alejandro | MOVISTAR | 4:06 |
| 18 | KWIATKOWSKI, Michal | SKY | s.t. |
| 19 | ROJAS, Jose | MOVISTAR | s.t. |
| 20 | NIEVE, Mikel | SKY | s.t. |
| 21 | SPILAK, Simon | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | s.t. |
| 22 | HENAO, Sebastian | SKY | s.t. |
| 23 | MORENO, Daniel | MOVISTAR | s.t. |
| 24 | SALAS, Ibai | BURGOS BH | 5:50 |
| 25 | GARCIA, Egoitz | EQUIPO BOLIVIA | 5:56 |
| 26 | SILVA, Joaquim | W52-FC PORTO | 6:43 |
| 27 | SLAGTER, Tom-Jelte | CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | s.t. |
| 28 | RODRIGUEZ, Cristian | SPAIN | s.t. |
| 29 | FIGUEIREDO, Frederico | SPORTING-TAVIRA | s.t. |
| 30 | PARDILLA, Sergio | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 31 | MENDOZA, Omar Alberto | EQUIPO BOLIVIA | s.t. |
| 32 | EZQUERRA, Jesus | SPORTING-TAVIRA | s.t. |
| 33 | PRADES, Eduard | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 34 | HAIG, Jack | ORICA SCOTT | s.t. |
| 35 | RUBIO, Diego | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 36 | KIŠERLOVSKI, Robert | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | s.t. |
| 37 | MERINO, Igor | BURGOS BH | s.t. |
| 38 | CANTY, Brendan | CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | 6:49 |
| 39 | BROWN, Nathan | CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | 6:52 |
| 40 | KREUZIGER, Roman | ORICA SCOTT | 7:06 |
| 41 | SAEZ, Hector | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 42 | VICIOSO, Ángel | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | s.t. |
| 43 | VELOSO, Gustavo | W52-FC PORTO | s.t. |
| 44 | ETXEBERRIA, Victor | RP-BOAVISTA | 12:56 |
| 45 | ZABALA, Josu | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 46 | SCHULTZ, Nicholas | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | s.t. |
| 47 | OBANDO, Gregory | INTEJA DOMINICAN CYCLING | s.t. |
| 48 | BIZKARRA, Mikel | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY | s.t. |
| 49 | GUTIERREZ, Jose Manuel | KUWAIT-CARTUCHO.ES | s.t. |
| 50 | SILIN, Egor | RP-BOAVISTA | s.t. |
| 51 | MAMYKIN, Matvey | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | s.t. |
| 52 | GONZALEZ, Mário | SPORTING-TAVIRA | 13:25 |
| 53 | BELKOV, Maxim | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | 15:16 |
| 54 | MACHADO, Tiago | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | s.t. |
| 55 | RESTREPO, Jhonatan | KATUSHA-ALPECIN | s.t. |
| 56 | GONZALEZ, Aitor | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY | 15:40 |
| 57 | GUERRERO, Pablo | RP-BOAVISTA | s.t. |
| 58 | BELDA, David | BURGOS BH | s.t. |
| 59 | DÍAZ, José Manuel | ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY | 16:53 |
| 60 | AZURMENDI, Ibai | SPAIN | s.t. |
| 61 | LEMUS, Luis Enrique | ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY | s.t. |
| 62 | LIZARRALDE, Eneko | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY | 19:43 |
| 63 | GONZALEZ, Adrian | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY | s.t. |
| 64 | TXOPERENA, Bea?at | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY | s.t. |
| 65 | RODRIGUES, João | W52-FC PORTO | s.t. |
| 66 | ZURITA, Gilver | EQUIPO BOLIVIA | 20:16 |
| 67 | LIEPINS, Emils | RIETUMU BANKA - RIGA | 21:08 |
| 68 | LUKSEVICS, Viesturs | RIETUMU BANKA - RIGA | s.t. |
| 69 | REBELLIN, Davide | KUWAIT-CARTUCHO.ES | s.t. |
| 70 | AZKARATE, Iker | SPAIN | s.t. |
| 71 | JIMENEZ, Carlos Antonio | EQUIPO BOLIVIA | 21:26 |
| 72 | RODRIGUES, David | RP-BOAVISTA | 21:36 |
