António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) triumphed on his birthday a damp and dingy opening day of the Challenge Mallorca, winning the Trofeo Calvià in a two-up sprint finish against Héctor Alvarez (Spain).
"The goal of the season is always to win a race, and now I have one," Morgado said after the cold, rainy race. "It was a super hard day, super cold all day, but normally I feel good in these conditions so I am happy."
It just happened to be Morgado's 22nd birthday, adding extra importance to the win.
"Today is a special day, and I am happy to give this gift to myself. This race, with this weather, I know I can feel good because this is my type of weather.
"Last year, I tried too many times and this year I knew I just needed to try one time and then go away. It was important to keep easy in the bunch and then when I need to attack, I attack. It started to feel in the bunch that we did not have the power to close the gap, so I knew I needed to make my move.
"We played the game, but Héctor (Álvarez) did a great race. Like me, he deserved to win, it was really 50/50 so I am happy for my victory. The next races are a little bit more for the climbers, but we can look forward to them as well."
The pair had attacked from the peloton 33km from the finish of the 148km race, jumping clear on the race's final major climb of the Coll de sa Gramola, before catching and passing the remains of the breakaway and racing into the final 15km together.
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After building their lead on the run to the start/finish town of Palmanova, the young Iberian duo came to the finish line together. Alvarez led the way onto the sodden finishing straight, launching the sprint with Morgado in his wheel.
Alvarez, a 19-year-old on Lidl-Trek's development squad, didn't have the finishing speed to hold off 22-year-old Morgado, however, and so the Portuguese racer came past to claim his team's fourth victory of the young season.
Third place went to Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), who beat out fellow breakaway rider Adrien Boichis (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), the pair finishing 40 seconds down.
"It was impressive, even for me, no? I wasn't feeling the best legs today, and when Morgado attacked, I was a little in the back, but I was feeling a little better," Alvarez said after the race.
"I was looking at people that didn't look so good, so I tried my best. I went from behind to the top and I knew Morgado was super, super strong in the sprint. I was telling him, 'It's a pleasure for me to be here with you, so I'll go to the finish and we're going to see who is the best.' He was today, so congratulations to him, and I hope next time, I can win."
How it unfolded
Adne Holter launches the day's breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)
The 25th Trofeo Calvià would take the riders on a familiar 148km route into the hills around Palmanova, starting and ending in the town after a lumpy finish. 146 riders took the start in chilly and wet conditions, including eight WorldTour squads, though defending champion Jan Christen wasn't on the start line.
The race's opening 30km, including the Coll des Tords (6.6km at 2.5%), passed without much incident as the riders eased into the day. It took the Coll den Claret (5km at 4.7%) with 115km to go for an attack to get clear off the front.
On the way up, the quintet of Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-VisitMalta), Adrien Boichis (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) and Leander Van Hautegem (Flanders-Balosie) broke free to form the break of the day.
By the top of the biggest climb of the day, the Coll de Sóller (8.4km at 5.5%) with 80km to go, the five out front had 1:20 on the peloton, with the teams behind – including UAE, Lotto-Intermarché, and Jayco-AlUla – keeping them on a right leash.
At the top of the next climb, the second ascent of the Claret, 53km from the finish, the gap remained the same, though the lead group had slimmed. Along the way, Van Hautegem and Pietrobon had dropped away to leave a trio still up front.
Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), Adrien Boichis (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility) in the late breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)
Holter, Boichis, and Steinhauser continued to push on, but behind it wouldn't be long before the attacks started, with António Morgado jumping clear with 33km to go.
At the start of the day's final major climb, the Coll de sa Gramola (3.1km at 5.2%), the leaders continued at 1:40 up, while Morgado, accompanied by Héctor Alvarez, worked their way across the gap.
Heading into the final 20km, the chasing duo were just 20 seconds in arrears with the peloton two minutes down, setting up a grand finale. Morgado and Alvarez bridged across on the last lump of the day at 16km to go, with Alvarez quick to go on the offensive.
Soon enough, he was joined again by Morgado as the pair left the breakaway survivors behind for good. Behind, Bochis and Holter continued the chase, but the pair lagged over 20 seconds behind heading into the final 10km.
Morgado and Alvarez, having been on the attack for 80km less than their pursuers, had more than enough to extend their advantage on the road back to Palmanova, ensuring they would contest the victory between themselves.
The pair were content to head to the finish together, with neither man launching any major attacks on the run back to Palmanova. With the chasers far back, they were sure to contest the win, which in the end went to Morgado for his seventh career triumph.
Morgado and Alvarez on the attack late on (Image credit: Getty Images)
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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