Thomas Silva (XDS Astana) pulled away from a reduced peloton on the uphill drag into Lubián and won Clásica Castilla y León on Sunday.
Roger Andrià (Movistar) could not match a final acceleration of the 24-year-old from Uruguay and took second, just ahead of Silva's teammate Christian Scaroni.
Silva recently won his first Grand Tour stage with help from a lead-out by Scaroni on stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia. A strong closing charge by the duo on Sunday was similar to the day before, when Silva also won Clásica de Ordizia - Ordiziako Klasikoa and Scaroni finished fourth.
The 190.6km route began from the plains of north-western Spain at Benavente and headed directly west into the rugged Sanabria mountain terrain for a finish in Lubián. Five categorised climbs sprinkled the hilly course, with a trio of category 3 ascents on a circuit in the final 48 kilometres. The Castrelos (3km at 5.2%) climb left just 4km to the finish, a downhill marked by a stiff uphill final 1,000 metres to the conclusion in Lubián.
After a group of seven riders formed an early breakaway, a trio had pulled away headed to the final 40km and holding a 1:25 margin on the peloton - Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies), Adrián Benito (Polti VisitMalta) and Viacheslav Ivanov (Feirense-Beeceler).
The trio were no match for more climbs and charging peloton, now reduced to around 35 riders, as the hilly circuit began. It was a full reset with 18km to go.
Multiple attacks ensued but no one got away as the WorldTour teams wanted a sprint. And that is what they got, with XDS Astana and Movistar loading riders at the front of the field for the finale.
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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