Cimolai Wins Volta a Catalunya Opener

20 March 2017 04:04
FDJ's Davide Cimolai took the victory on the opening stage of the 98th Vuelta a Catalunya.

The race to promote Catalan as a tourist destination is one of the oldest in the world and the 2017 edition started with a 178.9km stage which started in the seaside town of Calella on a lovely sunny day.

199 riders started the stage which was still altogether after 21kms but eleven kilometres later, Magno Prado Nazaret, Murilo Affonso (Brasil), Antonio Nibali (Bahrain) and Pierre Rolland (Cannondale). were able to get away.

Affonso mopped up the points on the climbs to go into the King Of The Mountains jersey and the others took the sprints before the peloton finally caught them with 26kms to go.

Team Sky with Chris Froome who is not going for the General Classification in this race, were on the front going into the final ten kilometres.

Sky kept the pressure on and Peter Kennaugh made a break with less than two kilometes to go.

Kennaugh got caught with about six hundred metres left. The sprinters went for it. Geoffrey Soupe went then came Nacer Bouhanni but on the line, it was Davide Cimolai of FDJ who won in 4.28.21 ahead of Bouhanni and Sbaragli.

Cimolai said about his win: "Today I stayed very well thanks to my team and today was fantastic. "I like so much the racing in Spain for the stages and this is my second win in Vuelta Catalunya and I am very happy.

"Tomorrow I will work for the team but I will see day by day."



By Kev Monks for Digital Sports Group

 

Source: DSG