2020 Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (1.1), Spain

40th edition: February 14 - 15, 2020

Vuelta a Murcia podium history | 2019 edition | 2021 edition
Stage 1 | Stage 2

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Saturday, February 15: 2nd & Final Stage, Santomera - Murcia, 179.6 km

Luis Leon Sanchez wins the final stage.

Weather at the finish city of Murcia at 2:15 PM, local time: 21C (69F), sunny, with the wind from the southeast at 5 km/hr (3 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from stage winner Luis Leon Sanchez's Team Astana.

It was a great day for Astana Pro Team in Murcia: Luis Leon Sanchez won the second stage of the race after his late solo attack, Omar Fraile won the sprint for the second podium place, taking also the red jersey of the best climber, Nikita Stalnov finished 5th in the general classification, while Astana became the best team of the race.

- I am so happy to win at home in Murcia! This is a special race for me, and I am so excited to get another success here. This means a lot for me! It was a very difficult day on the road, and we all gave our best to win. The team was super today and I want to thank all guys for a great support. I think, our team did a very strong stage, especially with Omar Fraile and Oscar Rodriguez in the breakaway. I also was up there among the leaders, but on Collado Bermejo I did not feel too good. I thought it won’t be possible to fight for a stage, but later on descent I was able to catch the yellow jersey’s group, while inside the final 10 kilometers we caught two leaders. Together with Omar Fraile we played well our cards, and in a moment I saw a possibility for an attack and I just went away. This victory means a lot for me and I am happy to bring it to my team, - said Luis Leon Sanchez.

- It was a super hard day and in the end everyone was on the limit. When I saw Luis Leon attacking with 2 km to go, I tried to support him, controlling our rivals behind, but we all were empty. At the finish I gave my all in the sprint and I was happy to cross the finish line second, behind my teammate and friend Luis Leon. As a team we did a very solid race, everything was by plan, when we went in a breakaway together with Oscar Rodriguez. On Collado Bermejo we pushed as hard as possible to keep our advantage, but on descent we missed just a little to answer the attack of Alejandro Valverde. However, we were able to bring him back inside the final 10 kilometers. I was preparing for a sprint, but Luis Leon made a very strong attack and it brought us a very beautiful success. Day by day I feel like I am improving, and I hope to get more in the next races, - said Omar Fraile.

The second and the last stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia started in Santomera and finished on the streets of Murcia after 179.6 km of racing and four climbs on the distance.

Astana riders were very active from the start: Yevgeniy Gidich and Zhandos Bizhigitov tried to join a breakaway group, but finally, just two riders were able to break away. However, both have been caught quite shortly, on the top of Alto Espuña (1st category climb).

Five riders went away from the peloton on the slopes of the next climb Collado Bermejo (special category climb) with Omar Fraile and Oscar Rodriguez among the attackers. With around 30 km to go it was Alejandro Valverde and Lennard Kamna, who counterattacked, but they both were caught back inside the final 10 km.

The leading group of 9 riders, including Astana’s Omar Fraile and Luis Leon Sanchez was preparing for a sprint, but with 2 km to go Sanchez made a decisive attack to win the stage. Omar Fraile finished second.

Nikita Stalnov, one of the heroes of yesterday’s stage, finished 31st, but this result allowed him to take a 5th place in the final general classification of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia. The Belgian rider Xandro Meurisse won the final classification of the race.

Omar Fraile won the red jersey as the best climber of Vuelta Murcia. Also, as the winner of the only special category climb of the race Collado Bermejo, Fraile was awarded with a trophy in memory of Marco Pantani.

Astana Pro Team won the race in the team’s classification.

Complete results:

179.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.161 km/hr

1	Luis León Sánchez	Astana	4hr 21min 48sec
2	Omar Fraile	Astana	@ 7sec
3	Josef Černý	CCC Team	s.t.
4	Xandro Meurisse	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
5	Lennard Kämna	Bora-Hansgrohe	s.t.
6	Vicente Garcia	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
7	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	20
8	Felix Grossschartner	Bora-Hansgrohe	s.t.
9	Matteo Trentin	CCC Team	s.t.
10	Kamil Malecki	CCC Team	5:25
11	Loic Vliegen	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
12	Patrick Bevin	CCC Team	s.t.
13	Laurens Huys	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
14	Jose Neves	Burgos-BH	s.t.
15	Willie Smit	Burgos-BH	5:26
16	Oscar Rodriguez	Astana	5:28
17	Kevin Deltombe	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	5:45
18	Sergey Chernetskiy	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
19	Arjen Livyns	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
20	Dimitri Peyskens	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
21	Joan Bou	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
22	Thibault Guernalec	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
23	Diego Rubio	Burgos-BH	s.t.
24	Jaime Castrillo	Kern Pharma	s.t.
25	Nathan Van Hooydonck	CCC Team	s.t.
26	Simone Petilli	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
27	Thomas Sprengers	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
28	Hector Carretero	Movistar	s.t.
29	Jefferson Cepeda	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
30	Anthony Delaplace	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
31	Nikita Stalnov	Astana	s.t.
32	Aimé De Gendt	Circus-Wanty Gobert	5:56
33	Kristian Aasvold	Riwal Readynez	10:48
34	Roger Oliveras	Kern Pharma	s.t.
35	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
36	Jhojan Garcia	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
37	Ricardo Vilela	Burgos-BH	s.t.
38	Julien Mortier	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
39	Jan Bakelants	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
40	Antonio Soto	Fundacion-Orbea	10:52
41	Matis Louvel	Arkéa-Samsic	10:54
42	Aaron Verwilst	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
43	Sindre Skjøstad	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
44	Alvaro Cuadros	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
45	Sergio Garcia	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
46	Juan Fernando Calle	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
47	Giacomo Garavaglia	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
48	Ruben Fernandez	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
49	David de la Fuente	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
50	Nelson Oliveira	Movistar	s.t.
51	Mikel Iturria	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
52	Lukas Pöstlberger	Bora-Hansgrohe	11:41
53	Antonio Pedrero	Movistar	s.t.
54	Adam De Vos	Rally Cycling	12:49
55	Daniel Viegas	Kometa-Xstra	12:54
56	Diego Sevilla	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
57	Aaron Van Poucke	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
58	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck	CCC Team	s.t.
59	Kenny Molly	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
60	Anton Kuzmin	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
61	Yevgeniy Gidich	Astana	s.t.
62	Luc Wirtgen	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
63	Maurits Lammertink	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
64	Danill Fominykh	Astana	s.t.
65	Gijs Van Hoecke	CCC Team	s.t.
66	Dzmitry Zhyhunou	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
67	Jetse Bol	Burgos-BH	s.t.
68	Rasmus Quaade	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
69	Martijn Budding	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
70	Laurent Pichon	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
71	Alexander Vdovin	Lokosphinx	s.t.
72	Jesus Del Pino	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
73	Nigel Ellsay	Rally Cycling	13:07
74	Emerson Oronte	Rally Cycling	13:15
75	Stephen Bassett	Rally Cycling	15:28
76	Alex Molenaar	Burgos-BH	24:23
77	Jempy Drucker	Bora-Hansgrohe	s.t.
78	Sondre Enger	Riwal Readynez	32:14
79	Denis Nekrasov	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
80	Tobias Kongstad	Riwal Readynez	35:42
81	Oscar Hernandez	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
82	Arseny Nikiforov	Lokosphinx	s.t.

Final GC after stage 2:

• Final GC leader: Xandro Meurisse (Circus-Wanty-Gobert)
• Mountains classification winner: Omar Fraille (Astana)
• Points classification winner: Xandro Meurisse (Circus-Wanty-Gobert)
• Team classification winner: Astana

357.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.752 km/hr

1	Xandro Meurisse	Circus-Wanty Gobert	8hr 45min 55sec
2	Josef Černý	CCC Team	@ 11sec
3	Lennard Kämna	Bora-Hansgrohe	17
4	Thibault Guernalec	Arkéa-Samsic	5:49
5	Nikita Stalnov	Astana	5:58
6	Jefferson Cepeda	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	6:01
7	Hector Carretero	Movistar	6:15
8	Sergio Garcia	Kometa-Xstra	11:16
9	Antonio Soto	Fundacion-Orbea	11:35
10	Adam De Vos	Rally Cycling	12:46
11	Luis León Sánchez	Astana	16:42
12	Omar Fraile	Astana	16:49
13	Vicente Garcia	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
14	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	17:02
15	Felix Grossschartner	Bora-Hansgrohe	s.t.
16	Matteo Trentin	CCC Team	s.t.
17	Patrick Bevin	CCC Team	22:07
18	Willie Smit	Burgos-BH	22:08
19	Laurens Huys	Wallonie-Bruxelles	22:22
20	Jose Neves	Burgos-BH	s.t.
21	Loic Vliegen	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
22	Kamil Malecki	CCC Team	s.t.
23	Oscar Rodriguez	Astana	22:25
24	Kevin Deltombe	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	22:27
25	Arjen Livyns	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
26	Dimitri Peyskens	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
27	Diego Rubio	Burgos-BH	s.t.
28	Joan Bou	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
29	Anthony Delaplace	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
30	Thomas Sprengers	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
31	Nathan Van Hooydonck	CCC Team	22:42
32	Sergey Chernetskiy	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
33	Jaime Castrillo	Kern Pharma	s.t.
34	Simone Petilli	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
35	Aimé De Gendt	Circus-Wanty Gobert	24:16
36	Jhojan Garcia	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	27:30
37	Julien Mortier	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
38	Kristian Aasvold	Riwal Readynez Team	s.t.
39	Jan Bakelants	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
40	Ruben Fernandez	Fundacion-Orbea	27:36
41	Giacomo Garavaglia	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
42	Roger Adriá	Kern Pharma	27:45
43	Ricardo Vilela	Burgos-BH	s.t.
44	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	27:45
45	Sindre Lunke	Riwal Readynez Team	27:48
46	Juan Calle	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	27:50
47	Alvaro Cuadros	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	27:51
48	David de la Fuente	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
49	Aaron Verwilst	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
50	Mikel Iturria	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
51	Nelson Oliveira	Movistar	s.t.
52	Matis Louvel	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
53	Antonio Pedrero	Movistar	28:38
54	Martijn Budding	Riwal Readynez Team	29:36
55	Kenny Molly	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
56	Maurits Lammertink	Circus-Wanty Gobert	29:51
57	Aaron Van Poucke	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
58	Rasmus Quaade	Riwal Readynez Team	s.t.
59	Daniel Viegas	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
60	Diego Sevilla	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
61	Laurent Pichon	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
62	Dzmitry Zhyhunou	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
63	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck	CCC Team	s.t.
64	Jetse Bol	Burgos-BH	s.t.
65	Gijs Van Hoecke	CCC Team	s.t.
66	Alexander Vdovin	Lokosphinx	s.t.
67	Yevgeniy Gidich	Astana	s.t.
68	Jesus Del Pino	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
69	Danill Fominykh	Astana	s.t.
70	Nigel Ellsay	Rally Cycling	30:04
71	Lukas Pöstlberger	Bora-Hansgrohe	30:05
72	Emerson Oronte	Rally Cycling	30:12
73	Anton Kuzmin	Gazprom-RusVelo	31:07
74	Stephen Bassett	Rally Cycling	32:25
75	Alex Molenaar	Burgos-BH	41:20
76	Jempy Drucker	Bora-Hansgrohe	s.t.
77	Luc Wirtgen	Wallonie-Bruxelles	47:48
78	Denis Nekrasov	Gazprom-RusVelo	49:11
79	Sondre Holst Enger	Riwal Readynez Team	50:23
80	Oscar Hernandez	Aviludo-Louletano	52:39
81	Arseny Nikiforov	Lokosphinx	s.t.
82	Tobias Kongstad	Riwal Readynez Team	53:57

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Friday, February 14: Stage 1, Los Alcazares - Cravaca de la Cruz, 177.6 km

Xandro Meurisse takes the first stage.

Weather at the finish city of Cravaca de la Cruz at 1:20 PM, local time: 16C (61F), sunny, with the wind from the east at 5 km/hr (3mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from winner Xandro Meurisse's Circus-Wanty Gobert team.

Circus-Wanty Gobert-Tormans can add a first victory to its counter, thanks to a perfect day for Xandro Meurisse at the opening stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (14/02, 2.1). The rhythm on the sloping roads leaving the Spanish Coast in Los Alcazares was fast. Xandro Meurisse was part of the early breakaway of eleven riders. Not many teams were unhappy with the composition of this leading group, so the advantage gradually grew past 10 minutes.

The Belgian rider focused on the final. Many riders tried to escape from their breakaway companions, but finally nobody was able to create a gap before the approach to the final 3 kilometer climb. Meurisse rode a strong and tactically good last technical kilometer through the centre of Caravaca de la Cruz, distancing his competitors. The Circus-Wanty Gobert-Tormans rider took his first victory of the season and will defend the leader's jersey on the final day on Saturday. The peloton finished more than 16 minutes later. This Saturday, the stage relies Santomera and Murcia in 180 kilometer, via the Alto Espuna (10,6km, 3.9%) and the Alto de Collado Bermejo (7,2km,  7%).

Xandro Meurisse: "When the breakaway is formed after 20 kilometer, you know it’s going to be a long day. But the collaboration was good and all teams were represented with at least one good rider. We soon understood that we had chances to succeed, unless Movistar Team wanted otherwise. I focused on a couple of dangerous riders, but others did the same with me. Despite some attempts, I didn't manage to break away. We studied the final climb well with the team, so I knew perfectly how to position. The final 75 meter were very steep, but I had a slight gap!

"This situation is new for me. I'll have to defend a leader's jersey for the first time. I'm confident about the Alto Espuma, and I also count on my teammates!"

Complete Results and GC after stage 1:

177.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.364 km/hr

1	Xandro Meurisse	Circus-Wanty Gobert	4hr 24min 0sec
2	Adam De Vos	Rally Cycling	@ 4sec
3	Josef Černý	CCC Team	11
4	Thibault Guernalec	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
5	Lennard Kämna	Bora-hansgrohe	17
6	Nikita Stalnov	Astana	20
7	Jefferson Cepeda	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	23
8	Sergio Garcia	Kometa-Xstra	29
9	Hector Carretero	Movistar	37
10	Antonio Soto	Fundacion-Orbea	50
11	Clément Russo	Arkéa-Samsic	@ 16min 48sec
12	Arjen Livyns	Wallonie-Bruxelles	16:49
13	Patrick Bevin	CCC Team	s.t.
14	Kevin Deltombe	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
15	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	s.t.
16	Felix Grossschartner	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
17	Martijn Budding	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
18	Omar Fraile	Astana	s.t.
19	Ruben Fernandez	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
20	Vicente Garcia	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
21	Luis León Sánchez	Astana	s.t.
22	Matteo Trentin	CCC Team	s.t.
23	Aksel Nommela	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
24	Willie Smit	Burgos-BH	s.t.
25	Dimitri Peyskens	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
26	Anthony Delaplace	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
27	Julien Mortier	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
28	Pier-Andre Cote	Rally Cycling	s.t.
29	Jhojan Garcia	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
30	Diego Rubio	Burgos-BH	s.t.
31	Thomas Sprengers	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
32	Kenny Molly	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
33	Carmelo Urbano	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
34	Giacomo Garavaglia	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
35	Joan Bou	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
36	Kristian Aasvold	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
37	Jan Bakelants	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
38	Sindre Skjøstad	Riwal Readynez	17:01
39	Juan Fernando	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	17:03
40	Alex Molenaar	Burgos-BH	17:04
41	Oscar Hernandez	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
42	Maurits Lammertink	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
43	Francisco Galvan	Kern Pharma	s.t.
44	Alvaro Cuadros	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
45	Angel Madrazo	Burgos-BH	s.t.
46	Rasmus Christian Quaade	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
47	Oscar Rodriguez	Astana	s.t.
48	Roger Adriá Oliveras	Kern Pharma	s.t.
49	Stephen Bassett	Rally Cycling	s.t.
50	Nathan Van Hooydonck	CCC Team	s.t.
51	Ricardo Vilela	Burgos-BH	s.t.
52	Aaron Van Poucke	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
53	David de la Fuente	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
54	Erik Fetter	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
55	Emerson Oronte	Rally Cycling	s.t.
56	Imerio Cima	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
57	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
58	Laurens Huys	Wallonie-Bruxelles	s.t.
59	Laurent Pichon	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
60	Mikel Alonso Flores	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
61	Aaron Verwilst	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
62	Jose Neves	Burgos-BH	s.t.
63	Daniel Viegas	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
64	Donavan Grondin	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
65	Dzmitry Zhyhunou	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
66	Diego Pablo Sevilla	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
67	Jaime Castrillo	Kern Pharma	s.t.
68	Riccardo Verza	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
69	Mikel Iturria	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
70	Dmitry Sokolov	Lokosphinx	s.t.
71	Jempy Drucker	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
72	Alessandro Fancellu	Kometa-Xstra	s.t.
73	Sergey Chernetskiy	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
74	Simone Petilli	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
75	Loic Vliegen	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
76	Alexander Vdovin	Lokosphinx	s.t.
77	Jetse Bol	Burgos-BH	s.t.
78	Arseny Nikiforov	Lokosphinx	s.t.
79	Nelson Oliveira	Movistar	s.t.
80	Gijs Van Hoecke	CCC Team	s.t.
81	Jesus Del Pino	Aviludo-Louletano	s.t.
82	Martí Marquez	Kern Pharma	s.t.
83	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck	CCC Team	s.t.
84	Nick Van der Lijke	Riwal Readynez	s.t.
85	Alexandr Barsov	Lokosphinx	s.t.
86	Zhandos Bizhigitov	Astana	s.t.
87	Nigel Ellsay	Rally Cycling	s.t.
88	Kirill Svesnikov	Lokosphinx	s.t.
89	Yevgeniy Gidich	Astana	s.t.
90	Danill Fominykh	Astana	s.t.
91	Martin Bouzas	Kern Pharma	s.t.
92	Denis Nekrasov	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
93	Damiano Cima	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
94	Inigo Elosegui	Movistar	s.t.
95	Kamil Malecki	CCC Team	s.t.
96	Antonio Pedrero	Movistar	s.t.
97	Vladislav Kulikov	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
98	Hector Saez Benito	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
99	Matis Louvel	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
100	Emiel Planckaert	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
101	Amaury Capiot	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
102	Ibon Ruiz Sedano	Kern Pharma	s.t.
103	Sergio Araiz	Kern Pharma	s.t.
104	Matteo Dal-Cin	Rally Cycling	s.t.
105	Thomas Boudat	Arkéa-Samsic	s.t.
106	Ty Magner	Rally Cycling	18:04
107	Sondre Holst	Riwal Readynez	18:16
108	Peio Goikoetxea	Fundacion-Orbea	s.t.
109	Anton Kuzmin	Gazprom-RusVelo	18:20
110	Tobias Mørch	Riwal Readynez	18:22
111	Igor Boev	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
112	Aimé De Gendt	Circus-Wanty Gobert	18:27
113	Pieter Vanspeybrouck	Circus-Wanty Gobert	18:29
114	Lukas Pöstlberger	Bora-hansgrohe	18:31
115	Andreas Schillinger	Bora-hansgrohe	18:41
116	Pascal Ackermann	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
117	Rüdiger Selig	Bora-hansgrohe	18:44
118	Albert Torres	Movistar	18:45
119	Luc Wirtgen	Wallonie-Bruxelles	35:01
120	Nuno Meireles	Aviludo-Louletano	35:16