Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe continued their streak of early-season success at the Challenge Mallorca, with Arne Marit sprinting to the win in his debut for the team at the final race of the series, the Trofeo Palma.
The German squad had already won three races in the series, with the team time trial Trofeo Ses Salines and Remco Evenepoel's double triumph at the Trofeo Serra Tramuntana and Trofeo Andratx-Pollença.
Marit's burst of speed on the flat run to the line in Palma made it four from five for the team, with the Belgian outpacing Max Kanter (XDS-Astana) for the win.
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Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe took the final podium spot, too, as Italian teenager Alessio Magnagnotti, who races for the team's development squad, sprinted to third.
Earlier in the day, a breakaway of four riders – Michel Hessmann (Movistar), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-AlUla), Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jelle Johannik (Unibet Rose Rockets) – had gone away at the front.
At one point, the group built an advantage of over three minutes over the chasing peloton on the hilly mid stages of the 158km race. However, with teams such as Lotto-Intermarché and EF Education-EasyPost interested in a sprint and pulling behind, the quartet were never going to be allowed to stay away to the finish.
The race hit the flat closing circuit around Palma with 38km to go, and so the gap to the leaders evaporated. At 17km out, Sütterlin was the first to drop back from the move, with Hessmann and Johannik following shortly afterwards.
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Herregodts battled on alone, the Belgian managing to last until the 4km to go marker before he too was caught, setting up a mass sprint finish for the win.
Iván García Cortina (Movistar) was among the first to jump in the dash for the line, coming from further back with a swift kick. Marit responded, however, jumping on the Spaniard's wheel before hitting the wind himself.
The Belgian's rivals had no answer for his closing pace, and so Marit could raise his arms in the air in victory on his first day as a Red Bull rider.
Marit celebrates his win on the podium alongside Kanter and Magagnotti (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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