2017 Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (1.1), Spain

37th edition: Saturday, February 11, 2017

Vuelta a Murcia podium history | 2016 edition | 2018 edition | Race profile | Start list

San Javier - Murcia, 182.7 km

Alejandro Valverde takes a brilliant solo victory in Murcia

The race: Here's the story from winner Valverde's Movistar team.

In the early season Alejandro Valverde goes with courageous attempts that, most times, also end up bringing him success. Yet Valverde (Movistar Team) was even more superb on Saturday in the Vuelta a Murcia, showing a fitness level that - provided that he'll turn 37 in late April - cannot be qualified as anything but extraordinary.

The big local hero, supported by the José Luis Laguía-led squad all over the first half of the 182km course between San Javier and the region's capital, amused his countrymen with a solo attack from the very foot of the Collado Bermejo (Cat-1), which he crowned, two hours later, with an advantage over the main field exceeding two minutes.

Neither the strong headwinds, especially in the sections after the biggest climb of the day, nor the slopes of the Alto de Gebas (Cat-3), nor the wear and tear of his 70km solo action or the final efforts from the pursuit could beat 'Bala', who today increased his victory tally as a 15-year professional up to 98, just short of a maiden hundred he's almost certain to achieve.

An excellent way for Alejandro, author of the Movistar Team's third success of the season, to commence a year where he had already been on the spotlight with a 2nd spot on trophy three of the Mallorca Challenge. Valverde will now aspire to contesting the GC win in the Ruta del Sol, starting Wednesday. That's a race where he holds the all-time record of victories, four including his triumph in the 2016 edition.

Alejandro Valverde: “It really was hard, mainly because of those strong headwinds in the later part of the race down to Murcia. I had planned to jump from the bottom of the Collado Bermejo, and I had my team-mates pushing hard from the Aledo part of the climb, but I was really hoping for someone to come from behind and take some turns with me. In the end, I saw I was alone and I told to myself: ‘I keep going on the descent, and should they catch me, maybe I can go for it in the sprint, and shouldn't they, I win' - and I made it to the finish. I just had to give it a try, even it it was so far away from the finish and it was a long shot, but that was the only point where I could win solo from. I took that chance, and I succeeded.

"It's always special for me to win on home roads - this victory goes to all the people in this region, who always cheer for me so much when I'm racing abroad. It truly is the most beautiful of the five I've achieved here: it was a big effort and so tough to keep up against the wind and the climbs to win here. After Nairo's success in Valencia, things are looking really promising for us this season - it's just taking from where we left, after we won those four consecutive WorldTour titles all the way up to 2016. Now it's about having some rest and taking the start of the Ruta del Sol on Wednesday. There, we'll find Alberto Contador and many other big riders, and we will have to try and continue with this streak.”

Complete Results:

182.7 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.086 km/hr

1	VALVERDE, Alejandro	Movistar	4hr 3min 8sec
2	RESTREPO, Jhonatan	Katusha-Alpecin	@ 2min 10sec
3	KONRAD, Patrick	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
4	ROELANDTS, Jürgen	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
5	PLANCKAERT, Baptiste	Katusha-Alpecin	s.t.
6	IZAGUIRRE, Ion	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
7	JENSEN, Chris Juul	Orica-Scott	s.t.
8	BENOOT, Tiesj	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
9	WEENING, Pieter	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
10	BUCHMANN, Emanuel	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
11	GROSSHARTNER, Felix	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
12	SICARD, Romain	Direct Energie	s.t.
13	SOLER, Marc	Movistar	s.t.
14	BRAVO, Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
15	MORENO, Javier	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
16	BELDA, David	Burgos-BH	s.t.
17	SAEZ, Hector	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
18	NAVARRO, Daniel	Cofidis	s.t.
19	IZAGUIRRE , Gorka	Movistar	s.t.
20	FERNANDEZ, Ruben	Movistar	s.t.
21	SPILAK, Simon	Katusha-Alpecin	s.t.
22	KISERLOVSKI, Robert	Katusha-Alpecin	s.t.
23	GALLOPIN, Tony	Lotto-Soudal	2min 25sec
24	OWSIAN, Lukasz	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	4min 7sec
25	RIESEBEEK, Oscar	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
26	TRATNIK, Jan	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
27	OFFREDO, Yoan	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
28	BONNAFOND, Guillaume	Cofidis	s.t.
29	JOYCE, Colin	Rally Cycling	4min 41sec
30	REINDERS, Elmar	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
31	FERNANDEZ, Egoitz	Team Ukyo	s.t.
32	VAN, Etienne	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
33	BUDDING, Martijn	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
34	RUBIO, Diego	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
35	MEURISSE, Xandro	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
36	PATERSKI, Maciej	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
37	LIETAER, Eliot	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
38	ARANBURU, Alexander	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
39	MOLINA, Antonio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
40	PIBERNIK, Luka	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
41	BUTLER, Christopher	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
42	GUARDIOLA, Salvador	Team Ukyo	s.t.
43	FRISON, Frederick	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
44	KUSS, Sepp	Rally Cycling	s.t.
45	FIRSANOV, Sergey	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
46	NAULEAN, Brian	Direct Energie	s.t.
47	MEIJERS, Jeroen	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
48	BAGOT, Yohan	Cofidis	s.t.
49	TXOPERENA, Benat	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
50	MERINO, Igor	Burgos-BH	s.t.
51	BIZCARRA, Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
52	VANSPEYBROUCK, Pieter	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
53	BRITTON, Robert	Rally Cycling	s.t.
54	HUFFMAN, Evan	Rally Cycling	s.t.
55	BENEDETTI, Cesare	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
56	PIMENTA, José Joao	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
57	BAUGNIES, Jerome	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
58	NIELSEN, Magnus Cort	Orica-Scott	s.t.
59	QUEMENEUR, Perrig	Direct Energie	11min 7sec
60	SCHILLINGER, Andreas	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
61	WALLAYS, Delle	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
62	OURSELIN, Paul	Direct Energie	s.t.
63	FARAZIJN, Maxime	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
64	DELTOMBE, Kevin	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
65	PER, David	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
66	BOUHANNI, Rayane	Cofidis	s.t.
67	MORENO, Ivan	Spain	s.t.
68	DEGAND, Thomas	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
69	BACKAERT, Fredrik	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
70	VAN, Kenneth	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
71	SALAS, Ibai	Burgos-BH	s.t.
72	DE, Adam	Rally Cycling	s.t.
73	WALLAYS, Jens	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
74	PEDRERO, Antonio	Movistar	s.t.
75	MROZEK, Marcin	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
76	PUJOL, Oscar	Team Ukyo	s.t.
77	KOZANCHUK, Dmitriy	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
78	HAYMAN, Mathew	Orica-Scott	s.t.
79	FOLIFOROV, Alexander	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
80	GUILLEMOIS, Roomain	Direct Energie	s.t.
81	NIBALI, Antonio	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
82	PRADES, Benjami	Team Ukyo	s.t.
83	VAN, Trosh	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
84	ROSSETTO, Stéphane	Cofidis	21min 7sec
85	COUSIN, Jerome	Cofidis	21min 11sec
86	OIEN, Justin	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	25min 54sec
87	MEZGEC, Luka	Orica-Scott	s.t.
88	LLACER, Eduardo	Spain	s.t.
89	BALLESTEROS, Miguél Ángel	Spain	s.t.
90	POLS, Ruben	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
91	CORNU, Jeremy	Direct Energie	s.t.
92	VICIOSO, Angel	Katusha-Alpecin	s.t.
93	BROZYNA, Piotr	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
94	BELKOV, Maxim	Katusha-Alpecin	s.t.
95	PLUCINSKI, Leszek	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
96	ESTEVES, Ismael	Euskadi Basque Country	29min 53sec
97	IRIZAR, Julen	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
98	VIEJO, Jose Daniel	Spain	s.t.
99	JURADO, Marcos	Burgos-BH	s.t.
100	ZABALA, Josu	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
101	GONZALEZ, Adrian	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
102	NUÑEZ, Jose Carlos	DVP	s.t.
103	BOEV, Igor	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
104	SALOMEIN, Jarl	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
105	MATHIS, Marco	Katusha-Alpecin	s.t.
106	ARIESEN, Tim	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
107	BEWLEY, Sam	Orica-Scott	s.t.
108	VAN, Guillaume	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
109	DEBUSSCHERE, Jens	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
110	PATE, Danny	Rally Cycling	s.t.
111	SVESHNIKOV, Kirill	Gazprom-RusVelo	30min 19sec
112	MAIKIN, Roman	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
113	NOVAK, Domen	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
114	TOKUDA, Tanzo	Team Ukyo	s.t.

Race profile:

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Start list with back numbers, February 10, 2017:

	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)  [ESP]
1	Alejandro, VALVERDE BELMONTE
2	Imanol, ERVITI
3	Ruben, FERNANDEZ
4	Gorka, IZAGUIRRE
5	Marc, SOLER
6	Jasha Dimitri, SUTTERLIN
7	Jorge, ARCAS
	TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN (KAT)  [SUI]
11	Maxim, BELKOV
12	Robert, KISERLOVSKI
13	Marco, MATHIS
14	Baptiste Jacques, PLANCKAERT
15	Jhonatan, RESTREPO
16	Simon, SPILAK
17	Angel, VICIOSO ARCOS
	ORICA - SCOTT (ORS)  [AUS]
21	Luka, Mezgec
22	Ruben, PLAZA MOLINA
23	Jens, KEUKELEIRE
24	Magnus Cort, NIELSEN
25	Chris Juul, JENSEN
26	Sam, BEWLEY
27	Mathew, HAYMAN
	BAHRAIN - MERIDA (TBM)  [BRN]
31	Grega, BOLE
32	Borut, BOZIC
33	Ion, IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI
34	Javier, MORENO BAZAN
35	Antonio, NIBALI
36	David, PER
37	Luka, PIBERNIK
	BORA - HANSGROHE (BOH)  [GER]
41	Cesare, BENEDETTI
42	Emanuel, BUCHMANN
43	Silvio, HERKLOTZ
44	Patrick, KONRAD
45	José Joao, PIMENTA COSTA MENDES
46	Jurag, Sagan
47	Andreas, SCHILLINGER
	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)  [BLG]
51	André, GREIPEL
52	Tiesj, BENOOT
53	Tony, GALLOPIN
54	Jens, DEBUSSCHERE
55	Nikolas, MAES
56	Jürgen, ROELANDTS
57	Marcel, SIEBERG
	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS (COF)  [FRC]
61	Daniel, NAVARRO GARCIA
62	Guillaume, BONNAFOND
63	Yohan, BAGOT
64	Rayane, BOUHANNI
65	Nicolas, EDET
66	Stéphane, ROSSETTO
67	Julien, SIMON
	DIRECT ENERGIE (DEN)  [FRC]
71	Romain, CARDIS
72	Jeremy, CORNU
73	Roomain, GUILLEMOIS
74	Brian, NAULEAN
75	Paul, OURSELIN
76	Perrig, QUEMENEUR
77	Romain, SICARD
	GAZPROM-RUSVELO (GAZ)  [RUS]
81	Sergey, FIRSANOV
82	Alexander, FOLIFOROV
83	Dmitriy, KOZANCHUK
84	Sergey, NIKOLAEV
85	Artem, OVECHKIN
86	Evgeniy, SHALUNOV
87	Alexey, RYBALKIN
	SPORT VLAANDEREN - BALOISE (SVB)  [BLG]
91	Piet, ALLEGAERT
92	Aimé, DE GENDT
93	Benjamin, DECLERCQ
94	Eliot, LIETAER
95	Edward, PLANCKAERT
96	Ruben, POLS
97	Dries, VAN GESTEL
	ROOMPOT - NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ (RNL)  [NED]
101	Pieter, WEENING
102	Tim, ARIESEN
103	Martijn, BUDDING
104	Jeroen, MEIJERS
105	Elmar, REINDERS
106	Oscar, RIESEBEEK
107	Etienne, VAN EMPEL
	CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE (CCC)  [POL]
111	Felix, GROSSHARTNER
112	Kamil, MALECKI
113	Marcin, MROZEK
114	Lukasz, OWSIAN
115	Leszek, PLUCINSKI
116	Branislau, SAMOILAU
117	Jan, TRATNIK
	CAJA RURAL - SEGUROS RGA (CJR)  [ESP]
121	Yury, TROFIMOV
122	Alexander , ARANBURU DEBA
123	Justin, OIEN
124	Antonio, MOLINA
125	Christopher, BUTLER
126	Hector, SAEZ BENITO
127	Diego, RUBIO
	WANTY - GROUPE GOBERT (WGG)  [BLG]
131	Fredrik, BACKAERT
132	Jerome, BAUGNIES
133	Thomas, DEGAND
134	Xandro, MEURISSE
135	Marco, MINNAARD
136	Yoan, OFFREDO
137	Guillaume, VAN KEIRSBULCK
	BURGOS-BH (BUR)  [ESP]
141	Pablo, TORRES MUINO
142	Ibai, SALAS
143	Igor, MERINO CORTAZAR
144	Joan, RUIZ VICENS
145	David, BELDA GARCIA
146	Marcos, ROJO MARTIN
147	Alvaro, ROBREDO CRESPO
	EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY - MURIAS (EUS)  [ESP]
151	Garikoitz, BRAVO OIARBIDE
152	Benat, TXOPERENA MATXIKOTE
153	Julen, IRIZAR
154	Aritz, BAGÜES
155	Mikel, BIZCARRA
156	Imanol, ESTEVEZ SALAS
157	Eneko, LIZARRALDE
	RALLY CYCLING (RLY)  [USA]
161	Robert, BRITTON
162	Matteo, DAL-CIN
162	Adam, DE VOS
164	Evan, HUFFMAN
165	Colin, JOYCE
166	Sepp, KUSS
167	Danny, PATE
	TEAM UKYO (UKO)  [JPN]
171	Salvador, GUARDIOLA TORA
172	Benjami, PRADES
173	Oscar, PUJOL
174	Yusuke, HATANAKA
175	Yoshinitsu, HIRATSUKA
176	Tanzo, TOKUDA
177	Egoitz, FERNANDEZ
	SELECCION ESPAÑOLA ELITE Y SUB 23 (ESP)  [ESP]
181	Miguél Ángel, Ballesteros Canovas
182	Jaime, CASTRILLO ZAPATER
183	Javier, FUENTES JORDA
184	Ruben, MONTOYA LOPEZ
185	Ivan , MORENO SANCHEZ
186	Eusebio, PASCUAL BONHOMRE
187	Jose Daniel , VIEJO REDONDO