Julian Alaphilippe wins Clasica San Sebastian
Frenchman tops Mollema in two-up sprint
Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) carried his superb Tour de France form into this weekend, winning the San Sebastian Classic after a two-up sprint with Bauke Mollema (Trek Segafredo). The pair escaped on the final climb of the race and were never in danger of being caught by a chase group that contained many of the other pre-race favourites.
Alaphilippe and Mollema established a 30-second lead inside the final 8km of racing and the Frenchman controlled the sprint from start to finish, with Mollema forced to settle for second. Anthony Roux (FDJ) finished third.
The race was overshadowed by a crash with just under 20km remaining. Both Egan Bernal (Team Sky) and Mikel Landa (Team Movistar) were placed in neck-braces and taken to hospital.
For Alaphilippe the win cemented his ever-growing reputation as one of cycling's most multi-talented riders. The Frenchman won two stages and the king of the mountains jersey at the Tour de France, and can came into San Sebastian as a leading contender.
"I knew that the race suited my characteristics, but I honestly didn’t expect to win today," Alaphilippe said. "I didn’t feel very good, as I was tired after a long and hard Tour de France, but stayed focused in the final and made my effort at the right time, using the last climb as launch pad.
"I want to say a big thank you to my teammates, who protected and helped me throughout the day, believing in my chances. I am very happy after this win, because San Sebastian is a special race which I like a lot and it means a lot to conclude this part of the season with another beautiful victory."
The race effectively came down to a battle on the final climb after several early breaks were neutralised thanks to work from BMC Racing, Astana, Trek Segafredo and Bahrain Merida. The penultimate ascent of the Arkale softened up the remnants of the main bunch but it was Mollema - a previous winner - and his Trek teammates who took control on the final climb of Murgil Tontorra. The Dutchman's team thinned out the bunch to less than 20 riders before Astana moved to the front.
However, it was LottoNL Jumbo's talented young climber Antwan Tolhoek who created the first significant split with Rudy Mollard the only rider able to match the young Dutchman as the road began to rise to over 15 per cent.
Bahrain Merida looked to bring the pair back but with the leaders in sight, Mollema made his attack and quickly moved into the race lead. Just as the Dutchman looked to be in ascendancy Alaphilippe made contact, with a trailing Van Amermaet and the rest of the bunch unable to respond.
"I felt good," Mollema said. "But then on the top Alaphilippe was with me. We worked well together – it was one kilometer flat at the top, so we went pretty fast there and had a big gap already. And then we went down also fast and then it was just the two of us, but you know he is also fast in the sprint. I tried to hang on a bit and let him do the work the last 2kms especially, but still, he was faster than me."
The leading duo established a 15-second lead at the top of the climb and that soon doubled thanks to their combined efforts on the descent, and a lack of collaboration from the chasers. With the line in view, Alaphilippe moved to the front before using his convincing sprint to take another impressive win.
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Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | 6:03:45 |
2 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:16 |
4 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:20 |
12 | Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:43 |
13 | Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:48 |
14 | Igor Anton (Spa) Dimension Data | 0:00:49 |
15 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:51 |
16 | Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | James Knox (GBr) Quick-Step Floors | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:52 |
25 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky | 0:01:13 |
27 | Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Daniel Martinez (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:01:40 |
32 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:02:22 |
33 | Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Kristijan Durasek (Cro) UAE Team Emirates | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates | 0:03:32 |
43 | Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Louis Meintjes (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos BH | 0:04:24 |
48 | Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu) Quick-Step Floors | 0:04:26 |
50 | Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 0:04:49 |
51 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Jetse Bol (Ned) Manzana Postobon | 0:05:21 |
55 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 0:05:47 |
56 | Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:06:43 |
58 | Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:06:55 |
59 | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data | 0:07:54 |
61 | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data | 0:08:37 |
64 | Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Cyril Barthe (Fra) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:09:21 |
68 | Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Burgos BH | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Sergio Rodriguez Reche (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:10:15 |
75 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky | 0:10:29 |
76 | Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Kasper Asgreen (Den) Quick-Step Floors | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:11:35 |
81 | Pablo Torres Muiño (Spa) Burgos BH | 0:13:31 |
82 | Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Egan Bernal (Col) Team Sky | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
DNF | François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Bahrain-Merida | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing Team | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Loïc Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos BH | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
DNF | José Mendes (Por) Burgos BH | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos BH | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luis Guillermo Mas Bonet (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nelson Andres Soto Martinez (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Loic Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aritz Bagues Kalparsoro (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Arthur Vichot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jérémy Roy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Svein Tuft (Can) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Edward Theuns (Bel) Team Sunweb | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | Row 151 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 152 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cyril Barthe (Fra) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 31 | pts |
2 | Pablo Torres Muiño (Spa) Burgos BH | 15 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | 5 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky | 4 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 3 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Pablo Torres Muiño (Spa) Burgos BH | 9 | pts |
2 | Cyril Barthe (Fra) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 5 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
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