Lobato wins opening stage at Vuelta a Burgos

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Juan José Lobato (Movistar) claimed victory on the opening stage of the Vuelta a Burgos after outgunning Dani Moreno (Katusha) in the uphill finish on the climb of El Castillo.

Moreno had won atop El Castillo in 2012, and finished second while helping his teammate Joaquim Rodriguez to victory there the previous year, and it was no surprise that the Katusha team approached the base of the final climb as though it were their private fiefdom.

Alexander Kolobnev was particularly prominent on the front, expertly marshalling Moreno through the cobbled section midway up the short climb before swinging over as the road steepened in the final approach to the finish.

Before Moreno could land his anticipated blow, however, he was beaten to the punch by Giant-Shimano’s Thomas Damuseau. The young French talent opened a small gap when he jumped with 300 metres to go.

Almost immediately afterwards, Lobato unrolled a crisp acceleration of his own and danced clear of the field. Although Moreno battled gamely to get back on terms, Lobato had time to sit up and savour his win, pointing to the sky as soon as he swung through the final right-hand bend.

Moreno took second place in the same time, while Damuseau hung on for third, three seconds back, just ahead of Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Jonathan Fumeaux (IAM Cycling).

A stage winner at the Tour de Wallonnie last month, Lobato confirmed his fine recent form with an emphatic victory on the opening day in Burgos, though as the race progresses, the former Euskaltel-Euskadi man will likely be pressed into the service of defending champion, Nairo Quintana.

In his first competitive outing since winning the Giro d’Italia, Quintana appeared comfortable towards the head of the peloton throughout, and crossed the line in 11th place, five seconds down on Lobato.

Quintana's compatriot Carlos Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) was competing in his first race since Fleche Wallonne in April and camed home 5:28 down on the stage.

Early break

The stage was animated by a break featuring Luis Más (Caja Rural-RGA), Mirko Tedeschi (Neri-Sottoli), Ibai Salas (Burgos - BH) and Victor Etxebarria (Euskadi), who escaped inside the opening ten kilometres and gained a maximum advantage of three minutes.

Movistar’s was a visible presence at the head of the peloton in the finale, however, and their efforts helped to whittle the break’s lead down to just 40 seconds with 20 kilometres remaining, at which point Más and Tedeschi opted to press on without their erstwhile companions.

The duo were still out in front by the time they reached the entry to the finishing circuit around Burgos, and they held a 15-second lead as they climbed El Castillo for the first time, where Tedeschi tried to inch away from Más.

The pair led over the summit with 11 kilometres remaining, but the peloton was almost upon them, and Sebastien Turgot (Ag2r-La Mondiale) duly swept past them on the descent. His forearms resting across the tops of the handlebars in the style of Michele Bartoli, Turgot maintained a small advantage over the bunch on the approach to the finish, and received reinforcements when first Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) and then Giorgio Cecchinel (Neri Sottoli) bridged across.

The peloton remained in sight, however, and Turgot’s final dig with 3.5km remaining could do nothing to prevent their ineluctable recapture at the base of the final climb.

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