2016 Vuelta a Andalucia - Ruta Ciclista Del Sol (2.1), Spain.
62nd edition: February 17 - February 21, 2016
Vuelta a Andalucia podium history | 2015 edition | 2017 edition | Start list
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5
Sunday, February 21: 5th and Final stage, San Roque - Alto Peñas Blancas (Estepona), 171 km
Alejandro Valverde wins stage 5 and the final GC
The Race: The Ruta del Sol has almost become the private property of Alejandro Valverde. He's now won the race four out of the last five years. Only Christopher Froome's 2015 win has interrupted his straight run.
Valverde came into the final stage just 22 seconds behind race leader Tejay van Garderen.
On the day's final climb, the Pinas Blancas ascent, he was part of a small group that went clear. And then he dropped everyone else to come in more than a half minute ahead of second-place finisher Bauke Mollema. That gave Valverde a clean win in both the stage and the final GC.
Van Garderen was fourth in the stage, 48 finishing seconds behind Valverde, giving him second place overall.
After the race Valverde had this to say: "It's the most exciting victory of the four I've got here. It's true that the previous three were also beautiful, but I was feeling like this one was going away from my hands day by day. I felt comfortable all stage today, despite the route being so demanding - which also was for me. The team was also doing well and wanted to try and move the race, and we profited from several other teams who wished to go on the attack to make a fast race so we could get a chance to leave Van Garderen back into the last climb. We launched several of our guys into the early moves, with Rubén into a more serious break and Dani in the finale, and when I saw the others struggling a bit halfway through the last Peña Blancas, I knew that I had to go on a long attack if I wanted to win the GC.
"Last year in the Vuelta I suffered more than today, even as I did worse than today. I knew the climb, went again to look at it this week before the race, and knew how to tackle it. I always had time references from the team car against my rivals during the attack, and wasn't comfortable with that gap, so I just kept going and going on full steam until the finishing line. I knew I was well, but didn't feel I could gain so much space today. I was a bit lucky, also due to the fact that they changed the route just before the race to add that second ascent of Peñas Blancas - it granted me a bigger chance.
"I trained well over the winter; with good weather in Murcia, doing otherwise would be difficult. However, I saw other teams doing strong, those coming to train and race in Spain, the ones who started their seasons in Australia or Argentina... it really seems like the peloton has stepped up their game a bit compared to previous seasons in the early part of the year. Fortunately, and despite being close to turning 36, I'm feeling as excited and fit as when I was 22, even more so today - being able to stay with the top guys in the peloton makes me really happy.
"This victory is a tribute to many people. The main one is Adriano Malori: you all know he's still recovering after his crash in Argentina, and I want to wish him the best. Also the team: they all did fantastically well. The fans: as well in Andalucía as in the rest of Spain, they are spectacular and treat me really well. Also, my family, the kids, all the people who support me. My next goals? We'll be heading to Strade Bianche in two weeks, then Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo and then, the Northern classics, Harelbeke and Flanders above all."
Complete Results:
171 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.295 km/hr
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | 4hr 46min 51sec |
| 2 | Bauke Mollema | Trek-Segafredo | +36sec |
| 3 | Rafal Majka | Tinkoff | +42'' |
| 4 | Tejay van Garderen | BMC | +48'' |
| 5 | Roman Kreuziger | Tinkoff | +1' 07'' |
| 6 | Daniel Navarro | Cofidis | +1' 08'' |
| 7 | Wilco Kelderman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +1' 16'' |
| 8 | Igor Antón | Dimension Data | +1' 19'' |
| 9 | Mikel Nieve | Sky | +1' 27'' |
| 10 | Luis Ángel Maté | Cofidis | +1' 30'' |
| 11 | Wout Poels | Sky | +1' 44'' |
| 12 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 56'' |
| 13 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC | +2' 10'' |
| 14 | Fabio Felline | Trek-Segafredo | +3' 00'' |
| 15 | Omar Fraile | Dimension Data | +3' 12'' |
| 16 | Maxime Monfort | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 17 | Thomas Degand | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 18 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | s.t. |
| 19 | Reto Hollenstein | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 20 | Louis Vervaeke | Lotto - Soudal | +3' 26'' |
| 21 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar | +3' 30'' |
| 22 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | +3' 45'' |
| 23 | Sylwester Szmyd | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +4' 15'' |
| 24 | Gianni Moscon | Sky | s.t. |
| 25 | Sylvain Chavanel | Europcar | s.t. |
| 26 | Lukasz Owsian | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +5' 27'' |
| 27 | Felix Großschartner | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 28 | Haimar Zubeldia | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 29 | Huub Duyn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 30 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 31 | Steven Kruijswijk | LottoNL-Jumbo | +5' 32'' |
| 32 | Matteo Busato | Southeast-Venezuela | +6' 20'' |
| 33 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 34 | Mathias Frank | IAM Cycling | +6' 22'' |
| 35 | Jérôme Coppel | IAM Cycling | +6' 57'' |
| 36 | Sam Oomen | Giant - Alpecin | +7' 17'' |
| 37 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | +7' 41'' |
| 38 | Ibai Salas | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 39 | Marcin Mrozek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +8' 30'' |
| 40 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto - Soudal | +8' 37'' |
| 41 | Georg Preidler | Giant - Alpecin | +9' 02'' |
| 42 | Mikel Iturria | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 43 | Martin Elmiger | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 44 | Imanol Erviti | Movistar | s.t. |
| 45 | Vasil Kiryienka | Sky | s.t. |
| 46 | José Vicente Toribio | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 47 | Nick van der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +10' 05'' |
| 48 | Javier Moreno | Movistar | +10' 19'' |
| 49 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff | +10' 53'' |
| 50 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | +11' 25'' |
| 51 | Tosh Van der Sande | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 52 | Peter Stetina | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 53 | Clément Chevrier | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 54 | Sergey Firsanov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 55 | Jaime Rosón | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 56 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 57 | Tom Devriendt | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 58 | Rory Sutherland | Movistar | s.t. |
| 59 | Maurits Lammertink | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 60 | Samuel Sánchez | BMC | s.t. |
| 61 | Perrig Quémeneur | Europcar | +12' 42'' |
| 62 | Antonio Piedra | Funvic Soul Cycles | +12' 42'' |
| 63 | Garikoitz Bravo | Euskadi Basque Country | +13' 37'' |
| 64 | Ben Hermans | BMC | +17' 12'' |
| 65 | Maarten Tjallingii | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 66 | Kevin Van Melsen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 67 | Enrico Battaglin | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 68 | Sergio Pardilla | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 69 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC | s.t. |
| 70 | Ben Swift | Sky | s.t. |
| 71 | Bert-Jan Lindeman | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 72 | Damiano Caruso | BMC | s.t. |
| 73 | Nicolas Roche | Sky | s.t. |
| 74 | Tim Wellens | Lotto - Soudal | +17' 24'' |
| 75 | Manuele Boaro | Tinkoff | +17' 24'' |
| 76 | Jérôme Baugnies | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +18' 02'' |
| 77 | Aritz Bagües | Euskadi Basque Country | +19' 47'' |
| 78 | Jan Hirt | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 79 | Leszek Plucinski | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 80 | Simon Geschke | Giant - Alpecin | +21' 59'' |
| 81 | Damien Garcia | Stradalli-Bike Aid | +24' 54'' |
| 82 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Dimension Data | DNF |
| 83 | Frederik Veuchelen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | DNF |
| 84 | Junya Sano | Matrix Powertag | DNF |
| 85 | Nikolai Trussov | Tinkoff | DNF |
| 86 | Reinier Honig | Roompot Oranje Peloton | DNF |
| 87 | Javier Aramendía | Caja Rural | DNF |
| 88 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff | DNF |
| 89 | Paul Martens | LottoNL-Jumbo | DNF |
| 90 | Dimitri Claeys | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | DNF |
| 91 | Artem Ovechkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | DNF |
| 92 | Oliver Zaugg | IAM Cycling | DNF |
| 93 | Filippo Pozzato | Southeast-Venezuela | DNF |
| 94 | Pablo Torres | Burgos-BH | DNF |
| 95 | Markel Irizar | Trek-Segafredo | DNF |
| 96 | Enrique Sanz | Southeast-Venezuela | DNF |
| 97 | Adrien Petit | Europcar | DNF |
| 98 | Yukihiro Doi | Matrix Powertag | DNF |
| 99 | David Tanner | IAM Cycling | DNF |
| 100 | Martijn Keizer | LottoNL-Jumbo | DNF |
| 101 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 102 | Cyril Lemoine | Cofidis | DNF |
| 103 | Jesús Del Pino | Burgos-BH | DNF |
| 104 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | DNF |
| 105 | Beñat Txoperena | Euskadi Basque Country | DNF |
| 106 | Juan José Lobato | Movistar | DNF |
| 107 | Alexander Foliforov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | DNF |
| 108 | Andrei Solommenikov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | DNF |
| 109 | Jay Thomson | Dimension Data | DNF |
| 110 | Rubén Fernández | Movistar | DNF |
| 111 | Fabien Grellier | Europcar | DNF |
| 112 | Julien Morice | Europcar | DNF |
| 113 | Alexandre Pichot | Europcar | DNF |
| 114 | Dries Van Gestel | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 115 | Gijs Van Hoecke | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 116 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 117 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 118 | Magno Nazaret | Funvic Soul Cycles | DNF |
| 119 | Murilo Ferraz | Funvic Soul Cycles | DNF |
| 120 | Kleber Ramos | Funvic Soul Cycles | DNF |
| 121 | João Gaspar | Funvic Soul Cycles | DNF |
| 122 | Airán Fernández | Matrix Powertag | DNF |
| 123 | Imanol Estévez | Euskadi Basque Country | DNF |
| 124 | Arnau Solé | Burgos-BH | DNF |
| 125 | Raymond Kreder | Roompot Oranje Peloton | DNF |
| 126 | Christian Knees | Sky | DNF |
| 127 | Oscar Gatto | Tinkoff | DNF |
| 128 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek-Segafredo | DNF |
| 129 | Roy Curvers | Giant - Alpecin | DNF |
| 130 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | DNF |
| 131 | Cameron Meyer | Dimension Data | DNF |
| 132 | Kristian Sbaragli | Dimension Data | DNF |
| 133 | Nacer Bouhanni | Cofidis | DNF |
| 134 | Christophe Laporte | Cofidis | DNF |
| 135 | Geoffrey Soupe | Cofidis | DNF |
| 136 | Antwan Tolhoek | Roompot Oranje Peloton | DNF |
| 137 | Evgeniy Shalunov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | DNF |
| 138 | Aleksey Rybalkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | DNF |
| 139 | Igor Boev | Gazprom-Rusvelo | DNF |
| 140 | Maxime Farazijn | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 141 | Manuel Belletti | Southeast-Venezuela | DNF |
| 142 | Cristián Rodríguez | Southeast-Venezuela | DNF |
| 143 | Eugert Zhupa | Southeast-Venezuela | DNF |
| 144 | Jorge Cubero | Burgos-BH | DNF |
| 145 | Jon Ander Insausti | Euskadi Basque Country | DNF |
| 146 | Daniel Bichlmann | Stradalli-Bike Aid | DNF |
| 147 | Daniel López | Burgos-BH | DNF |
| 148 | Mirko Tedeschi | Southeast-Venezuela | DNF |
| 149 | Aitor González | Euskadi Basque Country | DNF |
Final GC after Stage 5:
- Final GC leader: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
- Final mountains classification leader: Damiano Caruso (BMC)
- Final points classificaton leader: Ben Swift (Sky)
701.4 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.658 km/hr
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | 17hr 41min 10sec |
| 2 | Tejay van Garderen | BMC | +26sec |
| 3 | Bauke Mollema | Trek-Segafredo | +52'' |
| 4 | Wilco Kelderman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +56'' |
| 5 | Rafal Majka | Tinkoff | +1' 11'' |
| 6 | Roman Kreuziger | Tinkoff | +1' 37'' |
| 7 | Wout Poels | Sky | +1' 42'' |
| 8 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC | +2' 03'' |
| 9 | Daniel Navarro | Cofidis | +2' 14'' |
| 10 | Mikel Nieve | Sky | +2' 45'' |
| 11 | Luis Ángel Maté | Cofidis | +2' 45'' |
| 12 | Igor Antón | Dimension Data | +2' 57'' |
| 13 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto - Soudal | +3' 17'' |
| 14 | Fabio Felline | Trek-Segafredo | +3' 19'' |
| 15 | Reto Hollenstein | IAM Cycling | +3' 24'' |
| 16 | Thomas Degand | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +4' 07'' |
| 17 | Sylvain Chavanel | Europcar | +4' 10'' |
| 18 | Maxime Monfort | Lotto - Soudal | +4' 10'' |
| 19 | Gianni Moscon | Sky | +4' 29'' |
| 20 | Louis Vervaeke | Lotto - Soudal | +4' 35'' |
| 21 | Omar Fraile | Dimension Data | +4' 46'' |
| 22 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar | +4' 47'' |
| 23 | Steven Kruijswijk | LottoNL-Jumbo | +5' 45'' |
| 24 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | +6' 06'' |
| 25 | Felix Großschartner | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +6' 27'' |
| 26 | Haimar Zubeldia | Trek-Segafredo | +6' 38'' |
| 27 | Jérôme Coppel | IAM Cycling | +6' 42'' |
| 28 | Lukasz Owsian | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +7' 08'' |
| 29 | Mathias Frank | IAM Cycling | +7' 33'' |
| 30 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | +8' 03'' |
| 31 | Sam Oomen | Giant - Alpecin | +8' 30'' |
| 32 | Matteo Busato | Southeast-Venezuela | +8' 50'' |
| 33 | Vasil Kiryienka | Sky | +9' 20'' |
| 34 | Huub Duyn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +9' 51'' |
| 35 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek-Segafredo | +9' 54'' |
| 36 | Javier Moreno | Movistar | +10' 21'' |
| 37 | Sylwester Szmyd | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +10' 22'' |
| 38 | Samuel Sánchez | BMC | +11' 24'' |
| 39 | Martin Elmiger | IAM Cycling | +11' 35'' |
| 40 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | +11' 37'' |
| 41 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff | +12' 19'' |
| 42 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto - Soudal | +12' 28'' |
| 43 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | +12' 45'' |
| 44 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto - Soudal | +13' 16'' |
| 45 | Tosh Van der Sande | Lotto - Soudal | +16' 05'' |
| 46 | Georg Preidler | Giant - Alpecin | +16' 20'' |
| 47 | Jaime Rosón | Caja Rural | +16' 38'' |
| 48 | Peter Stetina | Trek-Segafredo | +16' 45'' |
| 49 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | +17' 29'' |
| 50 | Ben Hermans | BMC | +17' 34'' |
| 51 | Perrig Quémeneur | Europcar | +17' 44'' |
| 52 | Tim Wellens | Lotto - Soudal | +17' 46'' |
| 53 | Sergey Firsanov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +17' 49'' |
| 54 | Ben Swift | Sky | +17' 51'' |
| 55 | Nick van der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +18' 03'' |
| 56 | Garikoitz Bravo | Euskadi Basque Country | +18' 18'' |
| 57 | Tom Devriendt | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +18' 24'' |
| 58 | Ibai Salas | Burgos-BH | +18' 38'' |
| 59 | Antonio Piedra | Funvic Soul Cycles | +18' 41'' |
| 60 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC | +18' 43'' |
| 61 | Sergio Pardilla | Caja Rural | +18' 53'' |
| 62 | Marcin Mrozek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +19' 08'' |
| 63 | Clément Chevrier | IAM Cycling | +21' 03'' |
| 64 | Imanol Erviti | Movistar | +21' 21'' |
| 65 | Nicolas Roche | Sky | +21' 39'' |
| 66 | Enrico Battaglin | LottoNL-Jumbo | +21' 40'' |
| 67 | José Vicente Toribio | Matrix Powertag | +21' 42'' |
| 68 | Mikel Iturria | Euskadi Basque Country | +22' 12'' |
| 69 | Simon Geschke | Giant - Alpecin | +22' 36'' |
| 70 | Maurits Lammertink | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +23' 10'' |
| 71 | Rory Sutherland | Movistar | +24' 19'' |
| 72 | Jérôme Baugnies | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +25' 13'' |
| 73 | Jan Hirt | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +26' 10'' |
| 74 | Manuele Boaro | Tinkoff | +27' 31'' |
| 75 | Aritz Bagües | Euskadi Basque Country | +29' 03'' |
| 76 | Kevin Van Melsen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +29' 10'' |
| 77 | Leszek Plucinski | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +29' 38'' |
| 78 | Damiano Caruso | BMC | +30' 32'' |
| 79 | Maarten Tjallingii | LottoNL-Jumbo | +30' 32'' |
| 80 | Bert-Jan Lindeman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +31' 11'' |
| 81 | Damien Garcia | Stradalli-Bike Aid | +44' 16'' |
Saturday, February 20: Stage 4, Alhaurín De La Torre 21 km individual time trial
Tejay van Garderen looking very aero as he hammers out a stage win and the GC lead.
The Race: Here's the report from stage winner Tejay van Garderen's BMC team.
20 February, Alhaurin de la Torre (ESP): Tejay van Garderen has stormed home to win today's Individual Time Trial on stage 4 of Ruta del Sol and claim the race lead heading into tomorrow's final stage.
Van Garderen set a blistering time of 27'05 on the 21km course to take the win two seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman (Team LottoNL-Jumbo) and seven seconds ahead of Jérome Coppel (IAM Cycling).
Brent Bookwalter and Samuel Sanchez put in stellar performances to finish in fourth and seventh place respectively.
Today's win gives van Garderen confidence going into the rest of the season. "It's great to get the first victory of the season early. Now we can take a more relaxed approach going forward. It's a big confidence boost but we definitely have our minds set on tomorrow. We're going to have a tough challenge but we're excited," van Garderen said.
"It was a tail wind on the way out but it was a lot of climbing and it was head wind on the way back but a bit downhill so it was really hard to pace. You couldn't go easy on the way out and you couldn't go easy on the way back, so you just had to put your head down and go."
"When you look at the results you can definitely tell that BMC Racing Team prepared well over the winter."
BMC Racing Team Sports Director Valerio Piva said the team had targeted today's ITT going into the race.
"From the beginning we came here with the ITT and the GC in mind for Tejay. We came here after Murcia and Almeria and did a recon of today's course to put Tejay in the best position to perform well. Today was amazing not only for him, but the whole team as we had three riders in the top ten. So we are very happy," Piva said.
Stage 5, 164.2km from San Roque to Alto Penas Blancas, is set for a battle between the GC contenders with a showdown on the summit finish of Peñas Blancas.
"If you look at today's results I think that we easily have the strongest team here so that gives me a lot of confidence that I'm not going to be isolated on the climb," van Garderen explained.
Van Garderen goes into the final stage with a two second lead over Kelderman and seven seconds in front of Coppel. Bookwalter sits in fourth and Sanchez in seventh, while Damiano Caruso maintains an eight-point lead in the King of the Mountain classification.
Complete Results:
21 kilometers raced at an average speed of 46.523 km/hr
| 1 | Tejay van Garderen | BMC | 27min 5sec |
| 2 | Wilco Kelderman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +2sec |
| 3 | Jérôme Coppel | IAM Cycling | +7'' |
| 4 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC | +15'' |
| 5 | Sylvain Chavanel | Europcar | +17'' |
| 6 | Wout Poels | Sky | +20'' |
| 7 | Samuel Sánchez | BMC | +21'' |
| 8 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | +22'' |
| 9 | Javier Moreno | Movistar | +24'' |
| 10 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | +34'' |
| 11 | Reto Hollenstein | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 12 | Maarten Tjallingii | LottoNL-Jumbo | +35'' |
| 13 | Steven Kruijswijk | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 14 | Gianni Moscon | Sky | +36'' |
| 15 | Bauke Mollema | Trek | +38'' |
| 16 | Vasil Kiryienka | Sky | +40'' |
| 17 | Fabio Felline | Trek | +41'' |
| 18 | Ben Hermans | BMC | +44'' |
| 19 | Tim Wellens | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 20 | Imanol Erviti | Movistar | +46'' |
| 21 | Rafal Majka | Tinkoff | +51'' |
| 22 | Georg Preidler | Giant - Alpecin | +52'' |
| 23 | Roman Kreuziger | Tinkoff | +52'' |
| 24 | Rubén Fernández | Movistar | s.t. |
| 25 | Martin Elmiger | IAM Cycling | +56'' |
| 26 | Simon Geschke | Giant - Alpecin | +59'' |
| 27 | Martijn Keizer | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 28 | Ben Swift | Sky | +1min 1sec |
| 29 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff | +1' 03'' |
| 30 | Artem Ovechkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +1' 06'' |
| 31 | Gijs Van Hoecke | Topsport Vlaanderen | +1' 14'' |
| 32 | Manuele Boaro | Tinkoff | +1' 15'' |
| 33 | Markel Irizar | Trek | +1' 16'' |
| 34 | Thomas Degand | Wanty | +1' 17'' |
| 35 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | +1' 17'' |
| 36 | Maxime Monfort | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 20'' |
| 37 | Rory Sutherland | Movistar | +1' 21'' |
| 38 | Felix Großschartner | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +1' 22'' |
| 39 | Christophe Laporte | Cofidis | +1' 23'' |
| 40 | Cyril Lemoine | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 41 | Christian Knees | Sky | +1' 26'' |
| 42 | Daniel Navarro | Cofidis | +1' 28'' |
| 43 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek | +1' 29'' |
| 44 | Nicolas Roche | Sky | s.t. |
| 45 | Damiano Caruso | BMC | +1' 30'' |
| 46 | Louis Vervaeke | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 31'' |
| 47 | Mathias Frank | IAM Cycling | +1' 33'' |
| 48 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 49 | Haimar Zubeldia | Trek | s.t. |
| 50 | Paul Martens | LottoNL-Jumbo | +1' 35'' |
| 51 | Juan José Lobato | Movistar | s.t. |
| 52 | Sam Oomen | Giant - Alpecin | s.t. |
| 53 | Luis Ángel Maté | Cofidis | +1' 37'' |
| 54 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar | +1' 39'' |
| 55 | Mikel Nieve | Sky | +1' 40'' |
| 56 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 43'' |
| 57 | Sergey Firsanov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +1' 44'' |
| 58 | Julien Morice | Europcar | +1' 50'' |
| 59 | Dimitri Claeys | Wanty | +1' 52'' |
| 60 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC | +1' 53'' |
| 61 | Magno Nazaret | FUNVIC | +1' 55'' |
| 62 | Omar Fraile | Dimension Data | +1' 56'' |
| 63 | Igor Antón | Dimension Data | +2' 00'' |
| 64 | Huub Duyn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +2' 02'' |
| 65 | Lukasz Owsian | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +2' 03'' |
| 66 | Sergio Pardilla | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 67 | Perrig Quémeneur | Europcar | +2' 04'' |
| 68 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | +2' 05'' |
| 69 | Frederik Veuchelen | Wanty | +2' 09'' |
| 70 | Alexander Foliforov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +2' 10'' |
| 71 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | +2' 11'' |
| 72 | Andrei Solommenikov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +2' 13'' |
| 73 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 74 | Tom Devriendt | Wanty | +2' 19'' |
| 75 | Aleksey Rybalkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 76 | Evgeniy Shalunov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 77 | Peter Stetina | Trek | +2' 22'' |
| 78 | Aritz Bagües | Euskadi | s.t. |
| 79 | Filippo Pozzato | Southeast | +2' 25'' |
| 80 | Bert-Jan Lindeman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +2' 26'' |
| 81 | Roy Curvers | Giant - Alpecin | +2' 28'' |
| 82 | Imanol Estévez | Euskadi | +2' 29'' |
| 83 | Eugert Zhupa | Southeast | +2' 30'' |
| 84 | Jérôme Baugnies | Wanty | +2' 31'' |
| 85 | Nacer Bouhanni | Cofidis | +2' 32'' |
| 86 | Jaime Rosón | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 87 | Fabien Grellier | Europcar | +2' 36'' |
| 88 | Raymond Kreder | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +2' 40'' |
| 89 | Beñat Txoperena | Euskadi | +2' 41'' |
| 90 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | +2' 42'' |
| 91 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek | +2' 45'' |
| 92 | Enrique Sanz | Southeast | +2' 48'' |
| 93 | Enrico Battaglin | LottoNL-Jumbo | +2' 51'' |
| 94 | Matteo Busato | Southeast | +2' 52'' |
| 95 | Maurits Lammertink | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +2' 53'' |
| 96 | Oliver Zaugg | IAM Cycling | +2' 54'' |
| 97 | Adrien Petit | Europcar | +2' 57'' |
| 98 | Cristián Rodríguez | Southeast | s.t. |
| 99 | Antonio Piedra | FUNVIC | +3' 01'' |
| 100 | Oscar Gatto | Tinkoff | +3' 02'' |
| 101 | Jay Thomson | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 102 | Dries Van Gestel | Topsport Vlaanderen | +3' 03'' |
| 103 | Tosh Van der Sande | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 104 | Alexandre Pichot | Europcar | +3' 04'' |
| 105 | Garikoitz Bravo | Euskadi | +3' 04'' |
| 106 | Clément Chevrier | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 107 | Nikolai Trussov | Tinkoff | +3' 06'' |
| 108 | Kevin Van Melsen | Wanty | s.t. |
| 109 | Cameron Meyer | Dimension Data | +3' 07'' |
| 110 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | +3' 09'' |
| 111 | Mirko Tedeschi | Southeast | +3' 10'' |
| 112 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | +3' 11'' |
| 113 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 114 | Igor Boev | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 115 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | +3' 16'' |
| 116 | Leszek Plucinski | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +3' 17'' |
| 117 | Nick van der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +3' 18'' |
| 118 | Daniel López | Burgos | +3' 23'' |
| 119 | Jan Hirt | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +3' 25'' |
| 120 | David Tanner | IAM Cycling | +3' 26'' |
| 121 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto - Soudal | +3' 28'' |
| 122 | Arnau Solé | Burgos | s.t. |
| 123 | Marcin Mrozek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 124 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 125 | Maxime Farazijn | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 126 | Airán Fernández | Matrix Powertag | +3' 30'' |
| 127 | Jon Ander Insausti | Euskadi | +3' 30'' |
| 128 | Antwan Tolhoek | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +3' 31'' |
| 129 | Jorge Cubero | Burgos | s.t. |
| 130 | Daniel Bichlmann | Stradalli | +3' 35'' |
| 131 | Manuel Belletti | Southeast | +3' 45'' |
| 132 | Sylwester Szmyd | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +3' 45'' |
| 133 | José Vicente Toribio | Matrix Powertag | +3' 48'' |
| 134 | Jesús Del Pino | Burgos | +3' 55'' |
| 135 | Mikel Iturria | Euskadi | s.t. |
| 136 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | +3' 58'' |
| 137 | Ibai Salas | Burgos | +4' 03'' |
| 138 | Kristian Sbaragli | Dimension Data | +4' 10'' |
| 139 | Aitor González | Euskadi | +4' 26'' |
| 140 | Geoffrey Soupe | Cofidis | +4' 32'' |
| 141 | Junya Sano | Matrix Powertag | +4' 35'' |
| 142 | Murilo Ferraz | FUNVIC | +4' 36'' |
| 143 | Pablo Torres | Burgos | +4' 44'' |
| 144 | João Gaspar | FUNVIC | +4' 47'' |
| 145 | Damien Garcia | Stradalli | +4' 47'' |
| 146 | Javier Aramendía | Caja Rural | +5' 02'' |
| 147 | Yukihiro Doi | Matrix Powertag | +5' 33'' |
| 148 | Kleber Ramos | FUNVIC | +5' 55'' |
| 149 | Reinier Honig | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +6' 31'' |
| 150 | Amanuel Ghebreindrias | Stradalli | +8' 48 (OTL) |
| 151 | David Arroyo | Caja Rural | DNF |
| 152 | Borut Božic | Cofidis | DNF |
| 153 | Frederik Backaert | Wanty | DNF |
| 154 | Víctor Martín | Burgos | DNF |
| 155 | Mekseb Debesay | Dimension Data | DNF |
GC after Stage 4:
530.4 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.119 km/hr
| 1 | Tejay van Garderen | BMC | 12hr 53min 57sec |
| 2 | Wilco Kelderman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +2sec |
| 3 | Jérôme Coppel | IAM Cycling | +7'' |
| 4 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC | +15'' |
| 5 | Sylvain Chavanel | Europcar | +17'' |
| 6 | Wout Poels | Sky | +20'' |
| 7 | Samuel Sánchez | BMC | +21'' |
| 8 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | +22'' |
| 9 | Javier Moreno | Movistar | +24'' |
| 10 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | +34'' |
| 11 | Reto Hollenstein | IAM Cycling | +34'' |
| 12 | Steven Kruijswijk | LottoNL-Jumbo | +35'' |
| 13 | Gianni Moscon | Sky | +36'' |
| 14 | Bauke Mollema | Trek | +38'' |
| 15 | Vasil Kiryienka | Sky | +40'' |
| 16 | Fabio Felline | Trek | +41'' |
| 17 | Ben Hermans | BMC | +44'' |
| 18 | Tim Wellens | Lotto - Soudal | s.t. |
| 19 | Rafal Majka | Tinkoff | +51'' |
| 20 | Roman Kreuziger | Tinkoff | +52'' |
| 21 | Rubén Fernández | Movistar | +52'' |
| 22 | Simon Geschke | Giant - Alpecin | +59'' |
| 23 | Ben Swift | Sky | +1min 1sec |
| 24 | Thomas Degand | Wanty | +1' 17'' |
| 25 | Maxime Monfort | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 20'' |
| 26 | Felix Großschartner | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +1' 22'' |
| 27 | Daniel Navarro | Cofidis | +1' 28'' |
| 28 | Louis Vervaeke | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 31'' |
| 29 | Mathias Frank | IAM Cycling | +1' 33'' |
| 30 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Dimension Data | +1' 33'' |
| 31 | Haimar Zubeldia | Trek | +1' 33'' |
| 32 | Sam Oomen | Giant - Alpecin | +1' 35'' |
| 33 | Luis Ángel Maté | Cofidis | +1' 37'' |
| 34 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar | +1' 39'' |
| 35 | Mikel Nieve | Sky | +1' 40'' |
| 36 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto - Soudal | +1' 43'' |
| 37 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff | +1' 48'' |
| 38 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC | +1' 53'' |
| 39 | Omar Fraile | Dimension Data | +1' 56'' |
| 40 | Igor Antón | Dimension Data | +2' 00'' |
| 41 | Lukasz Owsian | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +2' 03'' |
| 42 | Sergio Pardilla | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 43 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | +2' 05'' |
| 44 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto - Soudal | +2' 13'' |
| 45 | Raymond Kreder | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +2' 40'' |
| 46 | Matteo Busato | Southeast | +2' 52'' |
| 47 | Martin Elmiger | IAM Cycling | +2' 55'' |
| 48 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | +3' 16'' |
| 49 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto - Soudal | +4' 13'' |
| 50 | Filippo Pozzato | Southeast | +4' 24'' |
| 51 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek | +4' 44'' |
| 52 | Huub Duyn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +4' 46'' |
| 53 | Enrique Sanz | Southeast | +4' 47'' |
| 54 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek | +4' 49'' |
| 55 | Nicolas Roche | Sky | +4' 49'' |
| 56 | Enrico Battaglin | LottoNL-Jumbo | +4' 50'' |
| 57 | Tosh Van der Sande | Lotto - Soudal | +5' 02'' |
| 58 | Garikoitz Bravo | Euskadi | +5' 03'' |
| 59 | Perrig Quémeneur | Europcar | +5' 24'' |
| 60 | David Tanner | IAM Cycling | +5' 25'' |
| 61 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | +5' 26'' |
| 62 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff | +5' 27'' |
| 63 | Jaime Rosón | Caja Rural | +5' 35'' |
| 64 | Peter Stetina | Trek | +5' 42'' |
| 65 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant - Alpecin | +6' 19'' |
| 66 | Antonio Piedra | FUNVIC | +6' 21'' |
| 67 | Sylwester Szmyd | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +6' 29'' |
| 68 | Jan Hirt | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +6' 45'' |
| 69 | Sergey Firsanov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +6' 46'' |
| 70 | Tom Devriendt | Wanty | +7' 21'' |
| 71 | Jérôme Baugnies | Wanty | +7' 33'' |
| 72 | Christophe Laporte | Cofidis | +7' 34'' |
| 73 | Georg Preidler | Giant - Alpecin | +7' 40'' |
| 74 | Dries Van Gestel | Topsport Vlaanderen | +8' 05'' |
| 75 | Nick van der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +8' 20'' |
| 76 | Oscar Gatto | Tinkoff | +9' 03'' |
| 77 | Alexander Foliforov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +9' 06'' |
| 78 | Aritz Bagües | Euskadi | +9' 38'' |
| 79 | Beñat Txoperena | Euskadi | +9' 57'' |
| 80 | Clément Chevrier | IAM Cycling | +10' 00'' |
| 81 | Cameron Meyer | Dimension Data | +10' 03'' |
| 82 | Leszek Plucinski | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +10' 13'' |
| 83 | Juan José Lobato | Movistar | +10' 27'' |
| 84 | Gijs Van Hoecke | Topsport Vlaanderen | +10' 28'' |
| 85 | Manuele Boaro | Tinkoff | +10' 29'' |
| 86 | Cristián Rodríguez | Southeast | +10' 29'' |
| 87 | Paul Martens | LottoNL-Jumbo | +10' 30'' |
| 88 | Airán Fernández | Matrix Powertag | +10' 35'' |
| 89 | Antwan Tolhoek | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +10' 36'' |
| 90 | Christian Knees | Sky | +10' 40'' |
| 91 | Marcin Mrozek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | +11' 00'' |
| 92 | Dimitri Claeys | Wanty | +11' 06'' |
| 93 | Martijn Keizer | LottoNL-Jumbo | +11' 12'' |
| 94 | Ibai Salas | Burgos | +11' 19'' |
| 95 | Frederik Veuchelen | Wanty | +11' 23'' |
| 96 | Nacer Bouhanni | Cofidis | +11' 24'' |
| 97 | Cyril Lemoine | Cofidis | +11' 31'' |
| 98 | Roy Curvers | Giant - Alpecin | +11' 42'' |
| 99 | Imanol Estévez | Euskadi | +12' 06'' |
| 100 | Maurits Lammertink | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +12' 07'' |
| 101 | Magno Nazaret | FUNVIC | +12' 08'' |
| 102 | Adrien Petit | Europcar | +12' 11'' |
| 103 | Fabien Grellier | Europcar | +12' 13'' |
| 104 | Kevin Van Melsen | Wanty | +12' 20'' |
| 105 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | +12' 25'' |
| 106 | Manuel Belletti | Southeast | +12' 40'' |
| 107 | Imanol Erviti | Movistar | +12' 41'' |
| 108 | Arnau Solé | Burgos | +12' 42'' |
| 109 | Artem Ovechkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +13' 01'' |
| 110 | José Vicente Toribio | Matrix Powertag | +13' 02'' |
| 111 | Markel Irizar | Trek | +13' 11'' |
| 112 | Rory Sutherland | Movistar | +13' 16'' |
| 113 | Mikel Iturria | Euskadi | +13' 32'' |
| 114 | Damiano Caruso | BMC | +13' 42'' |
| 115 | Maarten Tjallingii | LottoNL-Jumbo | +13' 42'' |
| 116 | João Gaspar | FUNVIC | +14' 01'' |
| 117 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | +14' 06'' |
| 118 | Andrei Solommenikov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +14' 08'' |
| 119 | Aleksey Rybalkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +14' 14'' |
| 120 | Bert-Jan Lindeman | LottoNL-Jumbo | +14' 21'' |
| 121 | Eugert Zhupa | Southeast | +15' 37'' |
| 122 | Jesús Del Pino | Burgos | +15' 50'' |
| 123 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | +15' 57'' |
| 124 | Oliver Zaugg | IAM Cycling | +16' 01'' |
| 125 | Jay Thomson | Dimension Data | +16' 09'' |
| 126 | Alexandre Pichot | Europcar | +16' 15'' |
| 127 | Murilo Ferraz | FUNVIC | +16' 31'' |
| 128 | Kristian Sbaragli | Dimension Data | +17' 17'' |
| 129 | Mirko Tedeschi | Southeast | +17' 48'' |
| 130 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | +18' 06'' |
| 131 | Maxime Farazijn | Topsport Vlaanderen | +18' 25'' |
| 132 | Geoffrey Soupe | Cofidis | +19' 10'' |
| 133 | Julien Morice | Europcar | +19' 28'' |
| 134 | Yukihiro Doi | Matrix Powertag | +19' 34'' |
| 135 | Jorge Cubero | Burgos | +19' 38'' |
| 136 | Damien Garcia | Stradalli | +19' 44'' |
| 137 | Daniel Bichlmann | Stradalli | +21' 52'' |
| 138 | Junya Sano | Matrix Powertag | +23' 06'' |
| 139 | Javier Aramendía | Caja Rural | +27' 16'' |
| 140 | Evgeniy Shalunov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +27' 34'' |
| 141 | Jon Ander Insausti | Euskadi | +27' 47'' |
| 142 | Nikolai Trussov | Tinkoff | +28' 21'' |
| 143 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | +28' 30'' |
| 144 | Aitor González | Euskadi | +29' 41'' |
| 145 | Kleber Ramos | FUNVIC | +30' 12'' |
| 146 | Igor Boev | Gazprom-Rusvelo | +32' 04'' |
| 147 | Reinier Honig | Roompot Oranje Peloton | +33' 45'' |
| 148 | Daniel López | Burgos | +35' 17'' |
| 149 | Pablo Torres | Burgos | +36' 38'' |
Friday, February 19: Stage 3, Monachil - Padul, 157.9 km
Oscar Gatto wins stage 3
The Race:
Here's stage winner Oscar Gatto's Tinkoff Team's explanation of the days racing.
Oscar Gatto won the final sprint of stage 3 hands down, clinching his first victory of the season. Rafal Majka and Roman Kreuziger finished once again in the leading group, retaining their GC aspirations ahead of tomorrow's tough time-trial.
The third stage of the Ruta del Sol, from Monachil to Padul (157.9 km), featured an undulating terrain with a third-category and three second-category climbs, set on the foothills of Sierra Nevada. Nine riders initiated an early breakaway with Manuele Boaro in it.
The escapees managed to build a maximum gap of 3:50 but several teams were pulling hard behind them in order to bring them back. The breakaway was caught at the bottom of the climb to Puerto del Legionario, which made a selection in the peloton. Rafal Majka, Roman Kreuziger and Oscar Gatto managed to always stay in the front positions of the group.
After the summit, the peloton tackled a final hilly stretch, taking a group of about 40 riders into the final sprint. The Tinkoff train brought Oscar Gatto in the best position for the sprint, where the Italian rider truly made a difference, by winning hands down with more than a bike length on second-placed Ben Swift.
"Today's parcours was challenging and this morning we gathered better information on it, which led us to a change in our tactics. This allowed us to keep our calm, thanks as well to the fact we had Manuele Boaro on a breakaway”, stated Sport Director Bruno Cenghialta
“The teams chasing the breakaway worked very hard and spent a lot of energy, so in the last part of the stage we managed to position four riders in the leading group heading into the final sprint. For Oscar Gatto it was a superb stage. Yesterday, he already had very good vibes but was unlucky as he punctured. As a result, today we were relying on him. This morning I told him that today he'd have a very big chance, so he took it. When you're in such a great shape as he is now, you must take advantage of these opportunities, and Majka together with Kreuziger perfectly positioned him for this sprint, slightly uphill, where thanks to his amazing power he was able to win hands down”.
Oscar Gatto, today's winner, commented on the stage: "I was feeling very well already in the first stage, I was fit, then we won with Bennati, so that was perfect. Yesterday, I was in the leading positions after passing the summit but unfortunately I punctured in the descent so I had to get a new wheel and say goodbye to my dreams of glory. Today, I was feeling very fit again, so on the final climb there were about thirty riders and I was there and the feeling was good. I was very pleased that great riders such as Majka and Kreuziger helped me today. Then, as last man I had Jay McCarthy who paced me up to perfection to deliver the sprint in style, and this kind of finishes are most suited to my skills".
Saturday will see the fourth stage of the race, an individual time trial of 21 km with a slightly uphill final 3 km, that is bound bring some changes in the GC in view of the final and decisive stage on Sunday.
“Tomorrow we face a very tough time trial. It's a test of strength, so it's quite clear that it's going to be a matter for specialists. The parcours is very demanding and we're going to check it thoroughly to make sure we have everything under control. This time trial will tell us more about the real forces on the field", concluded Bruno Cenghialta.
And here's race leader Ben Swift's Team Sky's telling of the stage's events:
Ben Swift was beaten to the line by Oscar Gatto (Tinkoff) but the 28-year-old's consistency was rewarded with the overall lead, following his 11th place on the opening day and podium finish on day two.
Team leader Wout Poels rolled in 15th to keep him in the running ahead of the last two days in southern Spain, when the climbers are likely to come to the fore.
A nine-man breakaway formed early in the stage and on an undulating parcours they built a solid gap of nearly seven minutes. But the peloton never seemed unduly worried and at the 80 kilometre mark, with the gap at four minutes, Movistar upped the pace and the breakaway was quickly reeled in.
With the race back together by the time the riders reached the day's final climb, with 25km of the 157.9km stage left, Team Sky set a punishing tempo up the second-category ascent, with Vasil Kiryienka particularly impressive up front.
Dani Navarro (Cofidis) attacked on the climb and was later joined by Omar Fraile (Dimension Data), and although the pair kept the chasing peloton at bay on the descent, they were caught inside the final few kilometres as the pace was upped on the run into Padul.
Swift was protected brilliantly by his team-mates and was afforded a better lead-out than he had been on day two but, despite starting his sprint early, Gatto had too much for the new race leader.
Sport Director Dario Cioni was happy to see Swift move into the leader's jersey, but admitted it wasn't quite the perfect day. He said: "It turned out to be a good day but not the perfect day we had hoped for. We only got the leader's jersey when we wanted the stage win too, but it's nice to see the team working really well again, and it's just a pity Ben couldn't get on top of the podium.
"Kiryienka is in really good shape and Gianni [Moscon] did a really good job for a neo-pro. He's showing that he can do some great stuff. Also Wout is really happy with himself and how he's been supported by the team."
Tomorrow's stage is a 21km individual time trial and Cioni is confident team leader Poels will perform well. "Wout is really confident coming off the win at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and he wants to repeat that here. A good time trial is key to winning the GC and he won the time trial in Valencia so why can't he repeat it?
"But let's not forget we've still got Kiry, the world time trial champion. Hopefully we can come out with the stage win tomorrow."
Complete Results:
157.9 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.963 km/hr
| 1 | GATTO Oscar | Tinkoff | 3hr 51min 17sec |
| 2 | SWIFT Ben | Sky | s.t. |
| 3 | KREDER Raymond | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 4 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 5 | FELLINE Fabio | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 6 | BOOKWALTER Brent | BMC | s.t. |
| 7 | GESCHKE Simon | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 8 | GILBERT Philippe | BMC | s.t. |
| 9 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 10 | BUSATO Matteo | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 11 | VALVERDE Alejandro | Movistar | s.t. |
| 12 | MATE Luis Angel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 13 | FERNANDEZ Rubén | Movistar | s.t. |
| 14 | CHAVANEL Sylvain | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 15 | POELS Wouter | Sky | s.t. |
| 16 | GROSSSCHARTNER Felix | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 17 | KELDERMAN Wilco | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 18 | MCCARTHY Jay | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 19 | MAJKA Rafal | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 20 | OWSIAN Lukasz | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 21 | MOSCON Gianni | Sky | s.t. |
| 22 | DE CLERCQ Bart | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 23 | VANENDERT Jelle | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 24 | DEGAND Thomas | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 25 | FRAILE Omar | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 26 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 27 | HERMANS Ben | BMC | s.t. |
| 28 | MOLLEMA Bauke | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 29 | KREUZIGER Roman | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 30 | SANCHEZ Samuel | BMC | s.t. |
| 31 | MARCZYNSKI Tomasz | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 32 | MORENO Javier | Movistar | s.t. |
| 33 | MONFORT Maxime | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 34 | ANTON Igor | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 35 | SIUTSOU Kanstantsin | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 36 | KIRYIENKA Vasil | Sky | s.t. |
| 37 | LIETAER Eliot | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 38 | VERVAEKE Louis | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 39 | VAN GARDEREN Tejay | BMC | s.t. |
| 40 | MEYER Cameron | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 41 | ATAPUMA Jhon | BMC | s.t. |
| 42 | NIEVE Mikel | Sky | s.t. |
| 43 | MORENO Daniel | Movistar | s.t. |
| 44 | ZUBELDIA Haimar | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 45 | OOMEN Sam | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 46 | FRANK Mathias | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 47 | COPPEL Jerome | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 48 | NAVARRO Daniel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 49 | KRUIJSWIJK Steven | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 50 | ROSON Jaime | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 51 | PARDILLA Sergio | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 52 | POZZATO Filippo | Southeast-Venezuela | @ 1min 59sec |
| 53 | SANZ UNZUE Enrique | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 54 | BENNATI Daniele | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 55 | BELLETTI Manuel | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 56 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 57 | LUDVIGSSON Fredrik | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 58 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 59 | QUEMENEUR Perrig | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 60 | MARTENS Paul | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 61 | SZMYD Sylvester | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 62 | BRAVO Garikoitz | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 63 | REIJNEN Kiel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 64 | DUYN Huub | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 65 | BAUGNIES Jérôme | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 66 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 67 | FIRSANOV Serguei | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 68 | BATTAGLIN Enrico | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 69 | DEVRIENDT Tom | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 70 | ZOIDL Riccardo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 71 | STETINA Peter | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 72 | HIRT Jan | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 73 | FERRARI Fabricio | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 74 | PIEDRA Antonio | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 75 | ELMIGER Martin | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 76 | ROCHE Nicholas | Sky | s.t. |
| 77 | TANNER David | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 78 | FERNANDEZ Airan | Matrix Powertag | 0:04:02 |
| 79 | DEBESAY Mekseb | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 80 | TOLHOEK Antwan | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 81 | TXOPERENA Beñat | Euskadi Basque Country | 0:04:13 |
| 82 | SALAS Ibai | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 83 | BAGUES Aritz | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 84 | KNEES Christian | Sky | 0:06:11 |
| 85 | PICHOT Alexandre | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 86 | GASPAR João | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 87 | GARCIA Damien | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 88 | VAN MELSEN Kevin | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 89 | FARAZIJN Maxime | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 90 | SBARAGLI Kristian | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 91 | ZHUPA Eugert | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 92 | BACKAERT Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 93 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 94 | SOLE Arnau | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 95 | CLAEYS Dimitri | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 96 | RODRÍGUEZ Cristian | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 97 | CHEVRIER Clement | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 98 | MROZEK Marcin | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 99 | BOARO Manuele | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 100 | THOMSON Jay Robert | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 101 | ZAUGG Oliver | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 102 | CURVERS Roy | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 103 | TORIBIO Jose | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 104 | VEUCHELEN Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 105 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 106 | CARUSO Damiano | BMC | s.t. |
| 107 | LAMMERTINK Maurits | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 108 | PETIT Adrien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 109 | LEMOINE Cyril | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 110 | PREIDLER Georg | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 111 | PLUCINSKI Leszek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 112 | BARBERO CUESTA Carlos | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 113 | TJALLINGII Maarten | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 114 | DOI Yukihiro | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 115 | FOLIFOROV Alexander | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 116 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 117 | ERVITI Imanol | Movistar | 0:08:52 |
| 118 | LOBATO Juan Jose | Movistar | s.t. |
| 119 | TRUSOV Nikolai | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 120 | OVECHKIN Artem | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 121 | MORICE Julien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 122 | BOUHANNI Nacer | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 123 | GRELLIER Fabien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 124 | DEL PINO Jesus | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 125 | HONIG Reinier | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 126 | SUTHERLAND Rory | Movistar | s.t. |
| 127 | KEIZER Martijn | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 128 | BICHLMANN Daniel | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 129 | LINDEMAN Bertjan | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 130 | RYBALKIN Aleksey | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 131 | SOLOMENNIKOV Andrey | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 132 | SHALUNOV Evgeny | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 133 | ESTEVEZ SALAS Imanol | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 134 | ARAMENDIA Javier | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 135 | ARROYO David | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 136 | FERRAZ Murilo | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 137 | CARTHY Hugh | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 138 | NAZARET Magno Prado | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 139 | IRIZAR Markel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 140 | GONZÁLEZ Aitor | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 141 | ITURRIA Mikel | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 142 | HELVEN Sander | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:08:56 |
| 143 | POLS Ruben | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 144 | SOUPE Geoffrey | Cofidis | 0:11:35 |
| 145 | TEDESCHI Mirko | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 146 | SANO Junya | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 147 | CUBERO Jorge | Burgos-BH | 0:13:04 |
| 148 | INSAUSTI Jon Ander | Euskadi Basque Country | 0:15:31 |
| 149 | BOEV Igor | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 150 | BOZIC Borut | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 151 | TORRES Pablo | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 152 | LÓPEZ Daniel | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 153 | MENGIS Amanuel | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 154 | DA SILVA Kleber | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 155 | MARTÍN Víctor | Burgos-BH | 0:19:47 |
GC after Stage 3:
509.4 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 40.923 km/hr
| 1 | SWIFT Ben | Sky | 12hr 26min 52sec |
| 2 | KREDER Raymond | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 3 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 4 | GILBERT Philippe | BMC | s.t. |
| 5 | FELLINE Fabio | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 6 | POELS Wouter | Sky | s.t. |
| 7 | GESCHKE Simon | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 8 | VALVERDE Alejandro | Movistar | s.t. |
| 9 | BUSATO Matteo | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 10 | KELDERMAN Wilco | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 11 | BOOKWALTER Brent | BMC | s.t. |
| 12 | CHAVANEL Sylvain | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 13 | MOSCON Gianni | Sky | s.t. |
| 14 | FRAILE Omar | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 15 | FERNANDEZ Rubén | Movistar | s.t. |
| 16 | MOLLEMA Bauke | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 17 | SIUTSOU Kanstantsin | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 18 | GROSSSCHARTNER Felix | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 19 | SANCHEZ Samuel | BMC | s.t. |
| 20 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 21 | HERMANS Ben | BMC | s.t. |
| 22 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 23 | KREUZIGER Roman | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 24 | VAN GARDEREN Tejay | BMC | s.t. |
| 25 | DEGAND Thomas | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 26 | MAJKA Rafal | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 27 | DE CLERCQ Bart | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 28 | MONFORT Maxime | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 29 | OWSIAN Lukasz | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 30 | MARCZYNSKI Tomasz | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 31 | KIRYIENKA Vasil | Sky | s.t. |
| 32 | MORENO Javier | Movistar | s.t. |
| 33 | FRANK Mathias | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 34 | MATE Luis Angel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 35 | KRUIJSWIJK Steven | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 36 | NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel | Sky | s.t. |
| 37 | OOMEN Sam | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 38 | LIETAER Eliot | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 39 | ZUBELDIA Haimar | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 40 | ANTON H Igor | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 41 | COPPEL Jerome | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 42 | ATAPUMA Jhon Darwin | BMC | s.t. |
| 43 | MORENO Daniel | Movistar | s.t. |
| 44 | NAVARRO Daniel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 45 | VERVAEKE Louis | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 46 | PARDILLA Sergio | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 47 | MCCARTHY Jay | Tinkoff | @ 45sec |
| 48 | VANENDERT Jelle | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 49 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto-Soudal | @ 1min 59sec |
| 50 | SANZ Enrique | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 51 | BENNATI Daniele | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 52 | REIJNEN Kiel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 53 | BATTAGLIN Enrico | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 54 | TANNER David | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 55 | ELMIGER Martin | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 56 | BRAVO Garikoitz | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 57 | POZZATO Filippo | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 58 | DUYN Huub | Roompot Oranje Peloton | 0:02:44 |
| 59 | FERRARI Fabricio | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 60 | SZMYD Sylvester | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 61 | ROSON Jaime | Caja Rural | 0:03:03 |
| 62 | PIEDRA Antonio | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 63 | ROCHE Nicholas | Sky | s.t. |
| 64 | QUEMENEUR Perrig | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 65 | HIRT Jan | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 66 | STETINA Peter | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 67 | ZOIDL Riccardo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 68 | DEBESAY Mekseb | Dimension Data | 0:04:47 |
| 69 | DEVRIENDT Tom | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:05:02 |
| 70 | LUDVIGSSON Fredrik | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 71 | FIRSANOV Serguei | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 72 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 73 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 74 | BAUGNIES Jérôme | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 75 | GATTO Oscar | Tinkoff | 0:06:01 |
| 76 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | 0:06:11 |
| 77 | PREIDLER Georg | Giant-Alpecin | 0:06:48 |
| 78 | CHEVRIER Clement | IAM Cycling | 0:06:56 |
| 79 | PLUCINSKI Leszek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 80 | MEYER Cameron | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 81 | FOLIFOROV Alexander | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 82 | FERNANDEZ Airan | Matrix Powertag | 0:07:05 |
| 83 | TOLHOEK Antwan | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 84 | BAGUES Aritz | Euskadi Basque Country | 0:07:16 |
| 85 | SALAS Ibai | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 86 | TXOPERENA Beñat | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 87 | MROZEK Marcin | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:07:32 |
| 88 | RODRÍGUEZ Cristian | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 89 | LOBATO Juan Jose | Movistar | 0:08:52 |
| 90 | BOUHANNI Nacer | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 91 | BELLETTI Manuel | Southeast-Venezuela | 0:08:55 |
| 92 | MARTENS Paul | LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:08:55 |
| 93 | PETIT Adrien | Direct Energie | 0:09:14 |
| 94 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 95 | CURVERS Roy | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 96 | BARBERO Carlos | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 97 | LAMMERTINK Maurits | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 98 | VAN MELSEN Kevin | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 99 | KNEES Christian | Sky | s.t. |
| 100 | BOARO Manuele | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 101 | SOLE VALL Arnau | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 102 | BACKAERT Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 103 | CLAEYS Dimitri | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 104 | VEUCHELEN Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 105 | GASPAR João | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 106 | TORIBIO Jose Vicente | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 107 | ARROYO David | Caja Rural | 0:09:37 |
| 108 | ITURRIA Mikel | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 109 | ESTEVEZ Imanol | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 110 | GRELLIER Fabien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 111 | LEMOINE Cyril | Cofidis | 0:10:08 |
| 112 | KEIZER Martijn | LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:10:13 |
| 113 | NAZARET Magno | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 114 | LINDEMAN Bertjan | LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:11:55 |
| 115 | RYBALKIN Aleksey | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 116 | SOLOMENNIKOV Andrey | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 117 | IRIZAR Markel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 118 | OVECHKIN Artem | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 119 | ERVITI Imanol | Movistar | s.t. |
| 120 | CARTHY Hugh | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 121 | SUTHERLAND Rory | Movistar | s.t. |
| 122 | DEL PINO Jesus | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 123 | FERRAZ Murilo | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 124 | HELVEN Sander | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:11:59 |
| 125 | CARUSO Damiano | BMC | 0:12:12 |
| 126 | SBARAGLI Kristian | Dimension Data | 0:13:07 |
| 127 | THOMSON Jay Robert | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 128 | TJALLINGII Maarten | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 129 | ZAUGG Oliver | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 130 | ZHUPA Eugert | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 131 | PICHOT Alexandre | Direct Energie | 0:13:11 |
| 132 | DOI Yukihiro | Matrix Powertag | 0:14:01 |
| 133 | SOUPE Geoffrey | Cofidis | 0:14:38 |
| 134 | TEDESCHI Mirko | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 135 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:14:57 |
| 136 | FARAZIJN Maxime | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 137 | GARCIA Damien | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 138 | CUBERO G Jorge | Burgos-BH | 0:16:07 |
| 139 | MORICE Julien | Direct Energie | 0:17:38 |
| 140 | BICHLMANN Daniel | Stradalli-Bike Aid | 0:18:17 |
| 141 | SANO Junya | Matrix Powertag | 0:18:31 |
| 142 | ARAMENDIA Javier | Caja Rural | 0:22:14 |
| 143 | BOZIC Borut | Cofidis | 0:23:10 |
| 144 | DA SILVA Kleber | Funvic Soul Cycles | 0:24:17 |
| 145 | INSAUSTI Jon Ander | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 146 | SHALUNOV Evgeny | Gazprom-Rusvelo | 0:25:15 |
| 147 | GONZÁLEZ Aitor | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 148 | TRUSOV Nikolai | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 149 | POLS Ruben | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:25:19 |
| 150 | HONIG Reinier | Roompot Oranje Peloton | 0:27:14 |
| 151 | MARTÍN Víctor | Burgos-BH | 0:28:33 |
| 152 | BOEV Igor | Gazprom-Rusvelo | 0:28:53 |
| 153 | LÓPEZ Daniel | Burgos-BH | 0:31:54 |
| 154 | TORRES Pablo | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 155 | MENGIS Amanuel | Stradalli-Bike Aid | 0:35:11 |
Thursday, February 18: Stage 2, Palomares del Río - Códoba, 186.3 km
Nacer Bouhanni wins stage 2
The Race: The day's climb came too far from the finish (about 25 kilometers) to keep the big, fast men from contesting the stage.
The ascent did create a selection, but the sprinters and their teams put it in the big meat and caught the front group in time to sprint it out for the win.
Cofidis rider Nacer Bouhanni timed things just right and took not only the stage, but the GC lead as well.
Complete Results:
186.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.945 km/hr
| 1 | Nacer Bouhanni | Cofidis | 4hr 39min 33sec |
| 2 | Fabio Felline | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 3 | Ben Swift | Sky | s.t. |
| 4 | Christophe Laporte | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 5 | Raymond Kreder | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 6 | Juan Jose Lobato | Movistar | s.t. |
| 7 | Tosh Van Der Sande | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 8 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 9 | Enrico Battaglin | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 10 | Matteo Busato | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 11 | Gianni Moscon | Sky | s.t. |
| 12 | Enrique Sanz | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 13 | Felix Grosschartner | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 14 | Reto Hollenstein | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 15 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | s.t. |
| 16 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC | s.t. |
| 17 | Martin Elmiger | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 18 | Omar Fraile | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 19 | Simon Geschke | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 20 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC | s.t. |
| 21 | Lukasz Owsian | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 22 | Wouter Poels | Sky | s.t. |
| 23 | David Tanner | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 24 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 25 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 26 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 27 | Wilco Kelderman | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 28 | Luis Angel Mate | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 29 | Sam Oomen | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 30 | Thomas Degand | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 31 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 32 | Sylvain Chavanel | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 33 | Tim Wellens | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 34 | Roman Kreuziger | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 35 | Samuel Sanchez | BMC | s.t. |
| 36 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 37 | Ruben Fernandez | Movistar | s.t. |
| 38 | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | s.t. |
| 39 | Rafal Majka | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 40 | Maxime Monfort | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 41 | Mathias Frank | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 42 | Jerome Coppel | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 43 | Bauke Mollema | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 44 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | s.t. |
| 45 | Garikoitz Bravo | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 46 | Igor Anton Hernandez | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 47 | Filippo Pozzato | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 48 | Haimar Zubeldia | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 49 | Daniel Navarro | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 50 | Steven Kruijswijk | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 51 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 52 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar | s.t. |
| 53 | Mikel Nieve | Sky | s.t. |
| 54 | Javier Moreno | Movistar | s.t. |
| 55 | Vasil Kiryienka | Sky | s.t. |
| 56 | Sergio Pardilla | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 57 | Ben Hermans | BMC | s.t. |
| 58 | Louis Vervaeke | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 59 | Georg Preidler | Giant-Alpecin | @ 37sec |
| 60 | Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo | Caja Rural | 0:00:45 |
| 61 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 62 | Huub Duijn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 63 | Alexander Foliforov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 64 | Sylwester Szmyd | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 65 | David Arroyo | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 66 | Clement Chevrier | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 67 | Leszek Plucinski | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 68 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 69 | Mekseb Debesay | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 70 | Imanol Estevez | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 71 | Mikel Iturria | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 72 | Fabien Grellier | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 73 | Cristian Rodriguez | Southeast-Venezuela | @ 1min 21sec |
| 74 | Martijn Keizer | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 75 | Marcin Mrozek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 76 | Antonio Piedra | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 77 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 78 | Perrig Quemeneur | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 79 | Magno Prado | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 80 | Peter Stetina | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 81 | Jan Hirt | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 82 | Nicolas Roche | Sky | s.t. |
| 83 | Frederik Backaert | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:03:03 |
| 84 | Arnau Sole Vall | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 85 | Jérôme Baugnies | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 86 | Maurits Lammertink | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 87 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 88 | Adrien Petit | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 89 | Sergey Firsanov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 90 | Airán Fernández | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 91 | Tom Devriendt | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 92 | Antwan Tolhoek | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 93 | Dries Van Gestel | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 94 | Gijs Van Hoecke | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 95 | Kevin Van Melsen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 96 | Ibai Salas | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 97 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 98 | Aritz Bagües | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 99 | Jose Vicente Toribio | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 100 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 101 | Alexey Ribalkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 102 | Roy Curvers | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 103 | Andrei Solomennikov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 104 | João Gaspar | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 105 | Mirko Tedeschi | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 106 | Nick Van Der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 107 | Frederik Veuchelen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 108 | Bertjan Lindeman | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 109 | Marc De Maar | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 110 | Dimitri Claeys | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 111 | Imanol Erviti Ollo | Movistar | s.t. |
| 112 | Beñat Txoperena | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 113 | Rory Sutherland | Movistar | s.t. |
| 114 | Christian Knees | Sky | s.t. |
| 115 | Jaime Roson | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 116 | Artem Ovechkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 117 | Murilo Affonso | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 118 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 119 | Jorge Cubero | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 120 | Markel Irizar | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 121 | Jesus Del Pino | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 122 | Cyril Lemoine | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 123 | Geoffrey Soupe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 124 | Manuele Boaro | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 125 | Oscar Gatto | Tinkoff | 0:06:01 |
| 126 | Damiano Caruso | BMC | s.t. |
| 127 | Jay Robert Thomson | Dimension Data | 0:06:56 |
| 128 | Oliver Zaugg | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 129 | Yukihiro Doi | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 130 | Manuel Belletti | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 131 | Kristian Sbaragli | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 132 | Eugert Zhupa | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 133 | Cameron Meyer | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 134 | Junya Sano | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 135 | Maarten Tjallingii | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 136 | Paul Martens | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 137 | Alexandre Pichot | Direct Energie | 0:07:00 |
| 138 | Borut Bozic | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 139 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:08:46 |
| 140 | Maxime Farazijn | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 141 | Damien Garcia | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 142 | Jose Ander Insausti | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 143 | Victor Martin | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 144 | Daniel Bichlmann | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 145 | Kenji Takubo | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 146 | Kleber Ramos | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 147 | Julien Morice | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 148 | Flavio Cardoso | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 149 | Daiki Yasuhara | Matrix Powertag | 0:09:51 |
| 150 | Igor Boev | Gazprom-Rusvelo | 0:13:22 |
| 151 | Javier Aramendia | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 152 | Evgeny Shalunov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | 0:16:23 |
| 153 | Nikolay Trusov | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 154 | Pablo Torres | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 155 | Aitor González | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 156 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 157 | Reinier Honig | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 158 | Daniel López | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 159 | Amanuel Ghebreindrias | Stradalli-Bike Aid | 0:19:40 |
GC after Stage 2:
351.5 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 40.905 km/hr
| 1 | Nacer Bouhanni | Cofidis | 8hr 35min 35sec |
| 2 | Juan Jose Lobato | Movistar | s.t. |
| 3 | Raymond Kreder | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 4 | Ben Swift | Sky | s.t. |
| 5 | Tosh Van Der Sande | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 6 | Reto Hollenstein | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 7 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 8 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 9 | Enrique Sanz | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 10 | Enrico Battaglin | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 11 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC | s.t. |
| 12 | David Tanner | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 13 | Fabio Felline | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 14 | Christophe Laporte | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 15 | Wouter Poels | Sky | s.t. |
| 16 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar | s.t. |
| 17 | Simon Geschke | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 18 | Wilco Kelderman | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 19 | Omar Fraile | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 20 | Gianni Moscon | Sky | s.t. |
| 21 | Matteo Busato | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 22 | Martin Elmiger | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 23 | Sylvain Chavanel | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 24 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC | s.t. |
| 25 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 26 | Bauke Mollema | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 27 | Ruben Fernandez | Movistar | s.t. |
| 28 | Samuel Sanchez | BMC | s.t. |
| 29 | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | s.t. |
| 30 | Ben Hermans | BMC | s.t. |
| 31 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 32 | Roman Kreuziger | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 33 | Felix Grosschartner | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 34 | Thomas Degand | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 35 | Maxime Monfort | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 36 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 37 | Mathias Frank | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 38 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 39 | Rafal Majka | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 40 | Tim Wellens | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 41 | Steven Kruijswijk | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 42 | Vasil Kiryienka | Sky | s.t. |
| 43 | Javier Moreno | Movistar | s.t. |
| 44 | Lukasz Owsian | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 45 | Sam Oomen | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 46 | Mikel Nieve | Sky | s.t. |
| 47 | Haimar Zubeldia | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 48 | Garikoitz Bravo | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 49 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 50 | Jerome Coppel | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 51 | Igor Anton Hernandez | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 52 | Daniel Navarro | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 53 | Luis Angel Mate | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 54 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar | s.t. |
| 55 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | s.t. |
| 56 | Filippo Pozzato | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 57 | Louis Vervaeke | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 58 | Sergio Pardilla | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 59 | Georg Preidler | Giant-Alpecin | 0:00:37 |
| 60 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff | 0:00:45 |
| 61 | Mekseb Debesay | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 62 | Clement Chevrier | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 63 | Huub Duijn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 64 | Mikel Iturria | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 65 | David Arroyo | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 66 | Leszek Plucinski | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 67 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 68 | Imanol Estevez | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 69 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 70 | Alexander Foliforov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 71 | Sylwester Szmyd | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 72 | Fabien Grellier | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 73 | Antonio Piedra | Funvic Soul Cycles | 0:01:21 |
| 74 | Martijn Keizer | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 75 | Marcin Mrozek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 76 | Nicolas Roche | Sky | s.t. |
| 77 | Cristian Rodriguez | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 78 | Jan Hirt | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 79 | Peter Stetina | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 80 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 81 | Perrig Quemeneur | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 82 | Magno Prado | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 83 | Gijs Van Hoecke | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:03:03 |
| 84 | Adrien Petit | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 85 | Tom Devriendt | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 86 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 87 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 88 | Roy Curvers | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 89 | Maurits Lammertink | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 90 | Geoffrey Soupe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 91 | Bertjan Lindeman | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 92 | Aritz Bagües | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 93 | Kevin Van Melsen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 94 | Airán Fernández | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 95 | Sergey Firsanov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 96 | Antwan Tolhoek | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 97 | Jorge Cubero | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 98 | Nick Van Der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 99 | Ibai Salas | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 100 | Dries Van Gestel | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 101 | Alexey Ribalkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 102 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 103 | Manuele Boaro | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 104 | Andrei Solomennikov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 105 | Markel Irizar | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 106 | Christian Knees | Sky | s.t. |
| 107 | Arnau Sole Vall | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 108 | Frederik Backaert | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 109 | Frederik Veuchelen | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 110 | Dimitri Claeys | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 111 | Jaime Roson | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 112 | Jose Vicente Toribio | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 113 | Jérôme Baugnies | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 114 | João Gaspar | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 115 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 116 | Artem Ovechkin | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 117 | Mirko Tedeschi | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 118 | Marc De Maar | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 119 | Beñat Txoperena | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 120 | Imanol Erviti Ollo | Movistar | s.t. |
| 121 | Rory Sutherland | Movistar | s.t. |
| 122 | Murilo Affonso | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 123 | Jesus Del Pino | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 124 | Cyril Lemoine | Cofidis | 0:03:57 |
| 125 | Oscar Gatto | Tinkoff | 0:06:01 |
| 126 | Damiano Caruso | BMC | s.t. |
| 127 | Kristian Sbaragli | Dimension Data | 0:06:56 |
| 128 | Manuel Belletti | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 129 | Paul Martens | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 130 | Maarten Tjallingii | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 131 | Jay Robert Thomson | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 132 | Oliver Zaugg | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 133 | Cameron Meyer | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 134 | Eugert Zhupa | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 135 | Junya Sano | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 136 | Alexandre Pichot | Direct Energie | 0:07:00 |
| 137 | Borut Bozic | Cofidis | 0:07:39 |
| 138 | Yukihiro Doi | Matrix Powertag | 0:07:50 |
| 139 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | 0:08:46 |
| 140 | Maxime Farazijn | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 141 | Flavio Cardoso | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 142 | Kleber Ramos | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 143 | Jose Ander Insausti | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 144 | Julien Morice | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 145 | Victor Martin Hernandez | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 146 | Damien Garcia | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 147 | Kenji Takubo | Matrix Powertag | 0:09:24 |
| 148 | Daniel Bichlmann | Stradalli-Bike Aid | 0:09:25 |
| 149 | Daiki Yasuhara | Matrix Powertag | 0:10:30 |
| 150 | Igor Boev | Gazprom-Rusvelo | 0:13:22 |
| 151 | Javier Aramendia | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 152 | Daniel López | Burgos BH | 0:16:23 |
| 153 | Evgeny Shalunov | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 154 | Aitor González | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 155 | Pablo Torres | Burgos BH | s.t. |
| 156 | Nikolay Trusov | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 157 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 158 | Reinier Honig | Roompot Oranje Peloton | 0:18:22 |
| 159 | Amanuel Ghebreindrias | Stradalli-Bike Aid | 0:19:40 |
Stage 2 map
Wednesday, February 17: Stage 1, Almonaster la Real - Sevilla, 165.2 km
Daniele Bennati wins Ruta del Sol stage 1. Bettini photo
The race:
Here's the tale as told by stage winner Daniele Bennati's Tinkoff team.
On the opening stage of the 62nd edition of the Spanish race, the Italian rider powered ahead in the final sprint and claimed his first victory since joining Tinkoff in 2013. To round off the team's great day, Oscar Gatto grabbed fourth position. Tomorrow, Bennati will wear the red jersey of GC leader.
A total of 164 riders took to the start of the 165.2km-long first stage, that took the peloton from Almonaster la Real to Seville. The race set off from the sierras of northwestern Andalucía with three third-category climbs in the first 50 km.
A breakaway of four riders marked the stage, managing to build an advantage that peaked at 8 minutes, while several teams leading the peloton kept the race under control. With 2 km to go the escapees were brought back in the group which arrived jointly together in the final bunch sprint in the Andalusian capital. In preparation for the finish, the great work of the Tinkoff squad took Daniele Bennati in the front positions of the group, allowing him to start sprinting at 300 meters from the finish line and grab thus his first victory in 2016 and the first since joining Tinkoff in 2013.
"For quite a while now, Bennati is going impressively well, therefore today we relied on him, and in the end the stage turned out to be as we had planned," stated Sport Director Bruno Cenghialta. "We are extremely happy that Daniele kind of unlocked himself. It was a wonderful sprint, we tried to get into the final kilometer in the right position and so it went well."
"The first part of the stage, on the other hand, was quite challenging, although it's quite usual for this type of undulating stages, with a breakaway which is pretty much controlled before you get to the sprint," concluded Cenghialta.
Daniele Bennati summed up his amazing win: “Today we set out with the goal to do the sprint with me. Obviously, quite often the races turn out to be different than what you expect, so the breakaway took everyone by surprise. It wasn’t our call to bring back the escapees, because there were other teams which were more interested in that. As we had two riders in the GC, I never expected our teammates would pull and chase the breakaway, and luckily other teams did that job."
"Going into the finale my teammates were awesome. Furthermore, with 10 km to go I even had a puncture in my front wheel and my situation got even more complicated. However, luckily, thanks to my good condition I was able to get back in. Then Trusov did an impressive job, taking me back to the front but it wasn't easy as it was a very fast-paced race, at about 60 km/h. McCarthy and Gatto were close to me in the finale and gave me a chance to sprint at the right time and win. Anyway, I’d really like to thank wholeheartedly all my teammates. This is the most important thing to me”, added Bennati.
"Tomorrow there's a climb at about 25 km from the finish where there is going to be a strong selection, because it's a pretty tough one. We expect to see a finale with a bunch group of 30 riders, maybe even 40. That will depend on the condition of the other teams", concluded Cenghialta.
The second stage will start at Palomares del Río and finish in Córdoba.
Results: stage results and GC are the same
165.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.994 km/hr
| 1 | BENNATI Daniele | Tinkoff | 3hr 56min 2sec |
| 2 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 3 | LOBATO Juan Jose | Movistar | s.t. |
| 4 | GATTO Oscar | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 5 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 6 | BOUHANNI Nacer | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 7 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 8 | KREDER Raymond | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 9 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 10 | TANNER David | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 11 | SWIFT Ben | SKY | s.t. |
| 12 | GILBERT Philippe | BMC | s.t. |
| 13 | SOUPE Geoffrey | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 14 | REIJNEN Kiel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 15 | SANZ UNZUE Enrique | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 16 | SBARAGLI Kristian | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 17 | PETIT Adrien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 18 | BELLETTI Manuel | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 19 | BATTAGLIN Enrico | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 20 | BOEV Igor | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 21 | DEVRIENDT Tom | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 22 | PREIDLER Georg | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 23 | POELS Wouter | Sky | s.t. |
| 24 | CURVERS Roy | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 25 | LUDVIGSSON Fredrik | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 26 | BARBERO Carlos | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 27 | KELDERMAN Wilco | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 28 | MOLLEMA Bauke | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 29 | LÓPEZ PARADA Daniel | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 30 | HERMANS Ben | BMC | s.t. |
| 31 | CHAVANEL Sylvain | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 32 | MARTENS Paul | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 33 | LINDEMAN Bertjan | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 34 | SIUTSOU Kanstantsin | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 35 | GESCHKE Simon | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 36 | VALVERDE Alejandro | Movistar | s.t. |
| 37 | FRAILE MATARRANZ Omar | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 38 | FELLINE Fabio | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 39 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 40 | TJALLINGII Maarten | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 41 | FERNANDEZ Rubén | Movistar | s.t. |
| 42 | ELMIGER Martin | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 43 | LAMMERTINK Maurits | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 44 | SANCHEZ Samuel | BMC | s.t. |
| 45 | VAN GARDEREN Tejay | BMC | s.t. |
| 46 | MOSCON Gianni | Sky | s.t. |
| 47 | CARUSO Damiano | BMC | s.t. |
| 48 | BUSATO Matteo | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 49 | CARDOSO Flavio | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 50 | BOOKWALTER Brent | BMC | s.t. |
| 51 | BAGUES Aritz | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 52 | THOMSON Jay Robert | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 53 | FARAZIJN Maxime | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 54 | KIRYIENKA Vasil | Sky | s.t. |
| 55 | MARCZYNSKI Tomasz | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 56 | CUBERO Jorge | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 57 | KREUZIGER Roman | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 58 | KRUIJSWIJK Steven | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 59 | MCCARTHY Jay | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 60 | MORENO Javier | Movistar | s.t. |
| 61 | VAN MELSEN Kevin | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 62 | MONFORT Maxime | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 63 | FRANK Mathias | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 64 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 65 | BOARO Manuele | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 66 | NIEVE Mikel | Sky | s.t. |
| 67 | DA SILVA Kleber | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 68 | MAJKA Rafal | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 69 | DEBESAY Mekseb Abrha | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 70 | FERNANDEZ Airan | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 71 | DEGAND Thomas | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 72 | IRIZAR Markel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 73 | DE CLERCQ Bart | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 74 | ZUBELDIA Haimar | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 75 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 76 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 77 | CHEVRIER Clement | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 78 | BRAVO Garikoitz | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 79 | KNEES Christian | Sky | s.t. |
| 80 | GROSSSCHARTNER Felix | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 81 | FIRSANOV Serguei | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 82 | MENGIS Amanuel | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 83 | TOLHOEK Antwan | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 84 | DUYN Huub | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 85 | DE LA PARTE Victor | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 86 | RYBALKIN Aleksey | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 87 | SALAS Ibai | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 88 | OOMEN Sam | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 89 | SOLOMENNIKOV Andrey | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 90 | MORENO Daniel | Movistar | s.t. |
| 91 | NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 92 | COPPEL Jerome | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 93 | ANTON Igor | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 94 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 95 | OWSIAN Lukasz | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 96 | ITURRIA Mikel | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 97 | CLAEYS Dimitri | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 98 | VEUCHELEN Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 99 | ATAPUMA Jhon | BMC | s.t. |
| 100 | PIEDRA Antonio | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 101 | HELVEN Sander | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 102 | LIETAER Eliot | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 103 | PLUCINSKI Leszek | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 104 | ROSON Jaime | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 105 | ARROYO David | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 106 | KEIZER Martijn | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 107 | ROCHE Nicholas | Sky | s.t. |
| 108 | MROZEK Marcin | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 109 | ESTEVEZ Imanol | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 110 | ZAUGG Oliver | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 111 | SOLE VALL Arnau | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 112 | SHALUNOV Evgeny | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 113 | MATE Luis Angel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 114 | POZZATO Filippo | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 115 | CARTHY Hugh | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 116 | FERRARI Fabricio | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 117 | VANENDERT Jelle | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 118 | GONZALEZ Aitor | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 119 | BACKAERT Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 120 | OVECHKIN Artem | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 121 | MORICE Julien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 122 | TORIBIO Jose Vicente | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 123 | PICHOT Alexandre | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 124 | INSAUSTI Jon Ander | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 125 | VERVAEKE Louis | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 126 | MEYER Cameron | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 127 | GASPAR João | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 128 | ZHUPA Eugert | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 129 | HIRT Jan | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 130 | TXOPERENA Beñat | Esukadi Basque Cycles | s.t. |
| 131 | FOLIFOROV Alexander | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
| 132 | DE MAAR Marc | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 133 | TEDESCHI Mirko | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 134 | RODRÍGUEZ Cristian | Southeast-Venezuela | s.t. |
| 135 | PARDILLA Sergio | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 136 | ERVITI Imanol | Movistar | s.t. |
| 137 | ARAMENDIA Javier | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 138 | BAUGNIES Jérôme | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 139 | STETINA Peter | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 140 | GRELLIER Fabien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 141 | MARTÍN Víctor | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 142 | DEL PINO Jesus | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 143 | FERRAZ Murilo | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 144 | QUEMENEUR Perrig | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 145 | ZOIDL Riccardo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 146 | SZMYD Sylvester | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | s.t. |
| 147 | SUTHERLAND Rory | Movistar | s.t. |
| 148 | NAZARET Magno Prado | Funvic Soul Cycles | s.t. |
| 149 | TORRES Pablo | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 150 | SANO Junya | Matrix Powertag | s.t. |
| 151 | TRUSOV Nikolai | Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 152 | POLS Ruben | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 153 | GARCIA Damien | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 154 | TAKUBO Kenji | Matrix Powertag | @ 38sec |
| 155 | YASUHARA Daiki | Matrix Powertag | 0:00:39 |
| 156 | BOZIC Borut | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 157 | BICHLMANN Daniel | Stradalli-Bike Aid | s.t. |
| 158 | DOI Yukihiro | Matrix Powertag | 0:00:54 |
| 159 | LEMOINE Cyril | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 160 | HONIG Reinier | Roompot Oranje Peloton | 0:01:59 |
| 161 | DE KORT Koen | Giant-Alpecin | 0:02:01 |
Start list with back numbers, February 16, 2016:
| SKY | |
| Director: Dario Cioni | |
| 1 | KIRYIENKA Vasil |
| 2 | ROCHE Nicholas |
| 3 | POELS Wouter |
| 4 | NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel |
| 5 | KNEES Christian |
| 6 | MOSCON Gianni |
| 7 | SWIFT Ben |
| TINKOFF | |
| Director: Bruno Chenghialta | |
| 11 | MAJKA Rafal |
| 12 | KREUZIGER Roman |
| 13 | BENNATI Daniele |
| 14 | BOARO Manuele |
| 15 | GATTO Oscar |
| 16 | MCCARTHY Jay |
| 17 | TRUSOV Nikolai |
| MOVISTAR | |
| Director: Jose Luis Arrieta | |
| 21 | VALVERDE Alejandro |
| 22 | ERVITI Imanol |
| 23 | FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Rubén |
| 24 | LOBATO DEL VALLE Juan Jose |
| 25 | MORENO BAZAN Javier |
| 26 | MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel |
| 27 | SUTHERLAND Rory |
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| Director: Andriano Baffi | |
| 31 | MOLLEMA Bauke |
| 32 | FELLINE Fabio |
| 33 | REIJNEN Kiel |
| 34 | STETINA Peter |
| 35 | IRIZAR ARANBURU Markel |
| 36 | ZOIDL Riccardo |
| 37 | ZUBELDIA AGIRRE Haimar |
| LOTTO-SOUDAL | |
| Director: Mario Aerts | |
| 41 | DE CLERCQ Bart |
| 42 | MARCZYNSKI Tomasz |
| 43 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh |
| 44 | MONFORT Maxime |
| 45 | VANENDERT Jelle |
| 46 | VERVAEKE Louis |
| 47 | WELLENS Tim |
| GIANT-ALPECIN | |
| Director: Arthur van Dongen | |
| 51 | GESCHKE Simon |
| 52 | CURVERS Roy |
| 53 | OOMEN Sam |
| 54 | PREIDLER Georg |
| 55 | LUDVIGSSON Fredrik |
| 56 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias |
| 57 | DE KORT Koen |
| IAM CYCLING | |
| Director: Mario Chiesa | |
| 61 | COPPEL Jerome |
| 62 | CHEVRIER Clement |
| 63 | TANNER David |
| 64 | ELMIGER Martin |
| 65 | FRANK Mathias |
| 66 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto |
| 67 | ZAUGG Oliver |
| LOTTO NL-JUMBO | |
| Director: Addy Engels | |
| 71 | KELDERMAN Wilco |
| 72 | BATTAGLIN Enrico |
| 73 | KRUIJSWIJK Steven |
| 74 | KEIZER Martijn |
| 75 | LINDEMAN Bertjan |
| 76 | MARTENS Paul |
| 77 | TJALLINGII Maarten |
| BMC | |
| Director: Valerio Piva | |
| 81 | VAN GARDEREN Tejay |
| 82 | GILBERT Philippe |
| 83 | SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel |
| 84 | HERMANS Ben |
| 85 | CARUSO Damiano |
| 86 | BOOKWALTER Brent |
| 87 | ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin |
| DIMENSION DATA | |
| Director: Alex Sans Vega | |
| 91 | ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor |
| 92 | DEBESAY Mekseb Abrha |
| 93 | MEYER Cameron |
| 94 | FRAILE MATARRANZ Omar |
| 95 | THOMSON Jay Robert |
| 96 | SBARAGLI Kristian |
| 97 | SIUTSOU Kanstantsin |
| CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | |
| Director: Eugenio Goikoetxea | |
| 101 | ARROYO DURAN David |
| 102 | PARDILLA BELLON Sergio |
| 103 | BARBERO CUESTA Carlos |
| 104 | CARTHY Hugh |
| 105 | ROSON GARCIA Jaime |
| 106 | FERRARI Fabricio |
| 107 | ARAMENDIA LORENTE Javier |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| Director: Lylian Lebreton | |
| 111 | CHAVANEL Sylvain |
| 113 | GRELLIER Fabien |
| 114 | MORICE Julien |
| 115 | PETIT Adrien |
| 116 | PICHOT Alexandre |
| 117 | QUEMENEUR Perrig |
| COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS | |
| Director: Didier Rous | |
| 121 | NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel |
| 122 | MATE MARDONES Luis Angel |
| 123 | BOUHANNI Nacer |
| 124 | BOZIC Borut |
| 125 | LAPORTE Christophe |
| 126 | LEMOINE Cyril |
| 127 | SOUPE Geoffrey |
| CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE | |
| Director: Robert Krajewski | |
| 131 | DE LA PARTE GONZALEZ Victor |
| 132 | PLUCINSKI Leszek |
| 133 | OWSIAN Lukasz |
| 134 | HIRT Jan |
| 135 | MROZEK Marcin |
| 136 | GROSSSCHARTNER Felix |
| 137 | SZMYD Sylvester |
| ROOMPOT ORANJE PELOTON | |
| Director: Erik Breukink | |
| 141 | DE MAAR Marc |
| 142 | DUYN Huub |
| 143 | HONIG Reinier |
| 144 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick |
| 145 | KREDER Michel |
| 146 | LAMMERTINK Maurits |
| 147 | TOLHOEK Antwan |
| WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT | |
| Director: Hilaire Van D. Schueren | |
| 151 | BAUGNIES Jérôme |
| 152 | DEGAND Thomas |
| 153 | CLAEYS Dimitri |
| 154 | DEVRIENDT Tom |
| 155 | VAN MELSEN Kevin |
| 156 | BACKAERT Frederik |
| 157 | VEUCHELEN Frederik |
| GAZPROM-RUSVELO | |
| Director: Sergey Klimov | |
| 161 | FIRSANOV Serguei |
| 162 | FOLIFOROV Alexander |
| 163 | SHALUNOV Evgeny |
| 164 | RYBALKIN Aleksey |
| 165 | BOEV Igor |
| 166 | OVECHKIN Artem |
| 167 | SOLOMENNIKOV Andrey |
| TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| Director: Walter Planckaert | |
| 171 | POLS Ruben |
| 172 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert |
| 173 | FARAZIJN Maxime |
| 174 | LIETAER Eliot |
| 175 | VAN HOECKE Gijs |
| 176 | HELVEN Sander |
| 177 | VAN GESTEL Dries |
| FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES-CARREFOUR | |
| Director: Benedito Azevedo | |
| 181 | PIEDRA PEREZ Antonio |
| 183 | DA SILVA RAMOS Kleber |
| 184 | NAZARET Magno Prado |
| 185 | GASPAR João |
| 186 | CARDOSO SANTOS Flavio |
| 187 | FERRAZ AFFONSO Murilo |
| SOUTHEAST-VENEZUELA | |
| Director: Serge Parsini | |
| 191 | POZZATO Filippo |
| 192 | BELLETTI Manuel |
| 193 | BUSATO Matteo |
| 194 | TEDESCHI Mirko |
| 195 | RODRÍGUEZ MARTIN Cristian |
| 196 | SANZ UNZUE Enrique |
| 197 | ZHUPA Eugert |
| BURGOS-BH | |
| Director: Dario Hernandez | |
| 201 | CUBERO GALVEZ Jorge |
| 202 | DEL PINO CORROCHANO Jesus |
| 203 | LÓPEZ PARADA Daniel |
| 204 | MARTÍN HERNANDEZ Víctor |
| 205 | TORRES MUÍÑO Pablo |
| 206 | SALAS Ibai |
| 207 | SOLE VALL Arnau |
| MATRIX POWERTAG | |
| Director: Masahiro Yasuhara | |
| 211 | TORIBIO ALCOLEA Jose Vicente |
| 212 | SANO Junya |
| 213 | DOI Yukihiro |
| 214 | FERNANDEZ CASASOLA Airan |
| 215 | YOSHIDA Hayato |
| 216 | YASUHARA Daiki |
| 217 | TAKUBO Kenji |
| EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY-MURIAS | |
| Director: Jon Odriozola | |
| 221 | BRAVO OIARBIDE Garikoitz |
| 222 | TXOPERENA MATXIKOTE Beñat |
| 223 | INSAUSTI IRASTORZA Jon Ander |
| 224 | BAGUES Aritz |
| 225 | ITURRIA SEGUROLA Mikel |
| 226 | ESTEVEZ SALAS Imanol |
| 227 | GONZALEZ PRIETO Aitor |
| STRADALLI-BIKE AID | |
| Director: Florent Horeau | |
| 231 | SCHAFER Timo |
| 232 | MENGIS GHEBREINDRIAS Amanuel |
| 233 | TESHOME HAGOS Meron |
| 234 | GARCIA Damien |
| 237 | BICHLMANN Daniel |