2018 Gran Premio Miguel Induráin (1.1), Spain
20th Edition, Saturday, March 31, 2018
GP Miguel Induráin historic results | 2017 edition | 2019 edition | Start list
Estella - Estella, 186 km
Winner Alejandro Valverde with cycling immortal Miguel Indurain.
Weather at Estella, Spain at 1:30 PM, local time: 9C (48F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the WNW at 29 km/hr (18 mph).
The race: Here's the report from winner Alejandro Valverde's Movistar team.
Alejandro Valverde makes journalists run out of adjectives and earns applause from the fans at every race he takes part in 2018. The Movistar Team leader dedicated a win to one of the men which has supported him the most all over his pro career, former Abarca Sports manager José Miguel Echávarri, by claiming his second career success in the GP Miguel Indurain, dominated again by the Eusebio Unzué-led squad with its seven riders committed to shining at the team’s home race.
Fantastic turns at the front by Jaime Castrillo -leading the bunch through the opening 120km-, Winner Anacona -over the climbs to Arradia and Guirguillano (Cat-1)- and Antonio Pedrero -all the way to the Alto de Lezaun (Cat-2)- led to a serious acceleration from Carlos Betancur and Andrey Amador, 40km from the finish, which shrank the group down to only 17 riders with four from the Movistar Team. The attacks by Mitchelton-Scott, Katusha and even some from the Movistar Team itself -Betancur holding a 25″ gap with 15km to go-, already into the final loop around the ‘wall’ of Ibarra, anticipated a tremendous attack from Valverde at the Alto de Eraul (Cat-2).
The Spaniard, only contested by youngster Carlos Verona (MTS), did not leave room to surprise and left his fellow countryman behind at the penultimate climb, the Alto de Muru, to reach the finish line solo in his 117th victory as a pro cyclist, the ninth of his season and the 12th for Movistar Team in 2018. Betancur (5th) and Marc Soler (6th) rounded off the fantastic display by the squad today directed by José Luis Arrieta.
REACTION / Alejandro Valverde:
“Yes, another one! I’m super happy to win this race because everything that meant for the team, with that tribute to José Miguel Echávarri by the event’s organisers. It’s always a beautiful event, but I was especially willing to come here this season and be present, because of him. It was a fast race, a quite windy one, yet the team kept everything under control all day, pacing themselves brilliantly. There were many teams trying to go on the attack into that final circuit -Mitchelton and Katusha were the ones making things hardest for us-, but we make the right moves and at the Eraul climb, I decided to attack and Verona and myself could stay away. Hats off to Carlos, because his performance today against me was excellent.
“All in all, I’m happy about this victory, about the spectacle we brought to the fans and even more surprised about the fitness level I’m being able to keep. I remain amazed by how smooth things are going after my injury. I just can’t thank enough all doctors and physiotherapists helping me out on my recovery process, as well as my family and all fans for their incredible support since my crash back in July. Next week I’ll be at the start of the Klasika Primavera in Amorebieta prior to Amstel, Flèche and Liège, which will be my final races before my first rest period this season.”
Complete Results:
186 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.673 km/hr
| 1 | VALVERDE Alejandro | Movistar | 4hr 41min 18sec |
| 2 | VERONA Carlos | Mitchelton-Scott | @ 20sec |
| 3 | SCHULTZ Nick | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | @ 1min 4sec |
| 4 | PRADES Eduard | Euskadi Basque Country | 1:16 |
| 5 | BETANCUR Carlos | Movistar | s.t. |
| 6 | SOLER Marc | Movistar | 1:19 |
| 7 | ZAKARIN Ilnur | Katusha-Alpecin | 1:30 |
| 8 | CALMEJANE Lilian | Direct Energie | 1:43 |
| 9 | ŠPILAK Simon | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 10 | STRAKHOV Dmitry | Lokosphinx | 2:03 |
| 11 | BRAVO Garikoitz | Euskadi Basque Country | 2:59 |
| 12 | FONTE César | W52-FC Porto | 4:08 |
| 13 | AMADOR Andrey | Movistar | 5:19 |
| 14 | EVTUSHENKO Alexander | Lokosphinx | 5:28 |
| 15 | MCNULTY Brandon | Rally Cycling | 6:26 |
| 16 | GONÇALVES Domingos | Radio Popular-Boavista | 7:36 |
| 17 | POWER Robert | Mitchelton-Scott | 7:55 |
| 18 | BARCELO Fernando | Euskadi Basque Country | 8:11 |
| 19 | GONZALEZ Aitor | Euskadi Basque Country | 8:13 |
| 20 | VDOVIN Alexander | Lokosphinx | s.t. |
| 21 | DI GRÉGORIO Rémy | Delko-Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 22 | SIMÓN Jordi | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 23 | KIŠERLOVSKI Robert | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 24 | FERRARI Fabricio | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 25 | VINHAS Rui | W52-FC Porto | s.t. |
| 26 | AZURMENDI Ibai | Team Euskadi | s.t. |
| 27 | CARPENTER Robin | Rally Cycling | 8:23 |
| 28 | LOZANO David | Novo Nordisk | s.t. |
| 29 | SMIT Willie | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 30 | CABEDO Óscar | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 31 | RODRIGUES Joao | W52-FC Porto | s.t. |
| 32 | TXOPERENA Beñat | Euskadi Basque Country | s.t. |
| 33 | AMEZQUETA Julen | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 34 | GOMES Luis | Radio Popular-Boavista | s.t. |
| 35 | RIES Michel | Polartec-Kometa | 8:27 |
| 36 | COMBAUD Romain | Delko-Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 37 | CELANO Danilo | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 8:31 |
| 38 | BAGÜES Aritz | Euskadi Basque Country | 8:32 |
| 39 | JUARISTI Txomin | Team Euskadi | 8:33 |
| 40 | VERMEULEN Alexey | Interpro Stradalli | s.t. |
| 41 | BOSWELL Ian | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 42 | LOPEZ Juan Antonio | Team Euskadi | s.t. |
| 43 | ETXABE Jokin | Interpro Stradalli | s.t. |
| 44 | RODRÍGUEZ Cristian | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 45 | ZABALA Josu | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 46 | JOYCE Colin | Rally Cycling | 8:42 |
| 47 | ELLSAY Nigel | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 48 | HAIG Jack | Mitchelton-Scott | 8:47 |
| 49 | FERNANDES José | W52-FC Porto | s.t. |
| 50 | ORONTE Emerson | Rally Cycling | 8:55 |
| 51 | SOKOLOV Dmitry | Lokosphinx | 8:57 |
| 52 | FERNANDEZ Delio | Delko-Marseille Provence | 9:10 |
| 53 | FINETTO Mauro | Delko-Marseille Provence | 9:21 |
| 54 | TAARAMÄE Rein | Direct Energie | 9:58 |
| 55 | MADRAZO Ángel | Delko-Marseille Provence | 11:34 |
| 56 | MANCEBO Francisco | Inteja Dominican Cycling | 13:20 |
| 57 | CUBERO Jorge | Burgos-BH | 13:26 |
| 58 | GARCIA Ricardo | Team Euskadi | s.t. |
| 59 | LÓPEZ Daniel | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 60 | SILVA Joaquim | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 61 | MARTIN Gotzon | Team Euskadi | 13:31 |
| 62 | SESSLER Nicolas | Burgos-BH | 13:33 |
| 63 | MIHAYLOV Nikolay | Delko-Marseille Provence | 17:02 |
| 64 | PLANET Charles | Novo Nordisk | 18:36 |
| 65 | HENTTALA Joonas | Novo Nordisk | s.t. |
| 66 | GONZÁLEZ Adrián | Burgos-BH | 18:46 |
| 67 | ANDERSON Ryan | Rally Cycling | 18:51 |
| 68 | HAMILTON Lucas | Mitchelton-Scott | 20:41 |
| 69 | ALBASINI Michael | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 70 | HIVERT Jonathan | Direct Energie | 21:19 |
| 71 | SICARD Romain | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 72 | QUEMENEUR Perrig | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 73 | CORNU Jeremy | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 74 | GRELLIER Fabien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 75 | MINI Emanuel | Novo Nordisk | 21:30 |
| 76 | VAN IJZENDOORN Rik | Novo Nordisk | s.t. |
| 77 | POLI Umberto | Novo Nordisk | s.t. |
| 78 | PERON Andrea | Novo Nordisk | s.t. |
Start list with back numbers, March 30, 2018:
| MITCHELTON-SCOTT | |
| 1 | ALBASINI Michael |
| 2 | HAMILTON Lucas |
| 3 | POWER Robert |
| 4 | VERONA Carlos |
| 5 | HAIG Jack |
| MOVISTAR | |
| 11 | ANACONA Winner Anrew |
| 12 | SOLER Marc |
| 13 | BETANCUR Carlos Alberto |
| 14 | CASTRILLO Jaime |
| 15 | PEDRERO Antonio |
| 16 | AMADOR Andrey |
| 17 | VALVERDE Alejandro |
| KATUSHA-ALPECIN | |
| 21 | BOSWELL Ian |
| 22 | HAAS Nathan |
| 23 | KISERLOVSKI Robert |
| 24 | SMIT Willie |
| 25 | RESTREPO Jhonatan |
| 26 | SPILAK Simon |
| 27 | ZAKARIN Ilnur |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 31 | CALMEJANE Lilian |
| 32 | CORNU Jérémy |
| 33 | HIVERT Jonathan |
| 34 | GRELLIER Fabien |
| 35 | QUEMENEUR Perrig |
| 36 | SICARD Romain |
| 37 | TAARAMAE Rein |
| DELKO-MARSEILLE PROVENCE KTM | |
| 41 | COMBAUD Romain |
| 42 | DI GREGORIO Rémy |
| 43 | FERNANDEZ Delio |
| 44 | MADRAZO Ángel |
| 45 | FINETTO Mauro |
| 46 | MIHAYLOV Nikolay |
| 47 | MORENO Javier |
| CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | |
| 51 | CELANO Danilo |
| 52 | AMEZQUETA Julen |
| 53 | ZABALA Josu |
| 54 | RODRÍGUEZ Cristian |
| 55 | SCHULTZ Nicholas |
| 56 | FERRARI Fabricio |
| 57 | SILVA Joaquim |
| EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY-MURIAS | |
| 61 | BRAVO Garikoitz |
| 62 | PRADES Eduard |
| 63 | TXOPERENA Beñat |
| 64 | BARCELÓ Fernando |
| 65 | GONZÁLEZ Aitor |
| 66 | BAGUES Aritz |
| 67 | RODRIGUEZ Óscar |
| BURGOS-BH | |
| 71 | MAMYKIN Matvei |
| 72 | SESSLER Nicolas |
| 73 | SIMON Jordi |
| 74 | GONZÁLEZ Adrián |
| 75 | CUBERO Jorge |
| 76 | CABEDO Oscar |
| 77 | LÓPEZ Daniel |
| NOVO NORDISK | |
| 81 | LOZANO David |
| 82 | PLANET Charles |
| 83 | HENTTALA Joonas |
| 84 | PERON Andrea |
| 85 | POLI Umberto |
| 86 | VAN IJZENDOORN Rik |
| 87 | MINI Emanuel |
| RALLY CYCLING | |
| 91 | ANDERSON Ryan |
| 92 | CARPENTER Robin |
| 93 | ELLSAY Nigel |
| 94 | JOYCE Colin |
| 95 | MAGNER Tyler |
| 96 | MCNULTY Brandon |
| 97 | ORONTE Emerson |
| TEAM EUSKADI | |
| 101 | AZURMENDI Ibai |
| 102 | INSAUSTI Ion Ander |
| 103 | GARCIA Ricardo |
| 104 | JUARISTI Txomin |
| 105 | LÓPEZ-COZAR Juan |
| 106 | GOIKOETXEA Peio |
| 107 | MARTIN Gotzon |
| POLARTEC-KOMETA | |
| 111 | CAMACHO Juan |
| 112 | RIES Michel |
| 113 | HABTOM Awet |
| 114 | SEVILLA Diego Pablo |
| 115 | BALLESTEROS Miguel Angel |
| 116 | CANTON Isaac |
| 117 | GAMPER Patrick |
| INTEJA DOMINICAN CYCLING TEAM | |
| 121 | MANCEBO Francisco |
| 123 | TORRES Albert |
| 124 | AGUIRRE Jose Alfredo |
| 125 | SARABIA Ignacio |
| 126 | NUÑEZ Adrián |
| 127 | RUBIO Jesús Alberto |
| INTERPRO STRADALLI CYCLING | |
| 131 | HISHINUMA Yukinori |
| 132 | ETXABE LETURIA Jokin |
| 133 | ROUSSEAU Jayson |
| 134 | EIKELAND Ken Levi |
| 135 | HJORTH Jonas |
| 136 | VERMEULEN Alexey |
| RADIO POPULAR-BOAVISTA | |
| 141 | TROFIMOV Yury |
| 142 | SILIN Egor |
| 143 | SALGADO João |
| 144 | GONCALVES Andre Maciel |
| 145 | CARDOSO Filipe Duarte Sousa |
| 146 | GOMES Luís |
| 147 | PELEGRÍ Óscar |
| LOKOSPHINX | |
| 151 | SOKOLOV Dmitry |
| 152 | VDOVIN Alexander |
| 153 | SAMOLENKOV Artem |
| 154 | STRAKHOV Dmitrii |
| 155 | EVTUSHENKO Alexander |
| 156 | STASH Mamyr |
| W52-FC PORTO | |
| 161 | NEVES José |
| 162 | SÁNCHEZ Ángel |
| 163 | RODRIGUES Joao |
| 164 | CARVALHO Antonio |
| 165 | VINHAS Rui |
| 166 | FONTE César |
| 167 | FERREIRA Tiago |