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Sam Bennett wins Clásica de Almería

Netapp rider takes first professional win

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Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura) wins the 2014 Clásica de Almería

Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura) wins the 2014 Clásica de Almería (Image credit: TNE/BettiniPhoto)
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The breakaway of the day, here with Raúl Alarcón (Louletano), Edwig Cammaerts (Cofidis) and Igor Merino (Burgos BH). Also in the group were Byron Guama (Ecuador), Jesús Ezquerra (ActiveJet) and Miguel Mínguez (Euskadi)

The breakaway of the day, here with Raúl Alarcón (Louletano), Edwig Cammaerts (Cofidis) and Igor Merino (Burgos BH). Also in the group were Byron Guama (Ecuador), Jesús Ezquerra (ActiveJet) and Miguel Mínguez (Euskadi) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Peloton going across the Fuentes de Marbella, one of the most beautiful roads of Almería.

Peloton going across the Fuentes de Marbella, one of the most beautiful roads of Almería. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Cammaerts (Cofidis) leads through a climb a teared up, soon to be caught breakaway.

Cammaerts (Cofidis) leads through a climb a teared up, soon to be caught breakaway. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Cammaerts (Cofidis) takes a glance back to see how the peloton approaches.

Cammaerts (Cofidis) takes a glance back to see how the peloton approaches. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Raúl Alarcón (Louletano)

Raúl Alarcón (Louletano) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Peloton driven by a selfless Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)

Peloton driven by a selfless Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Higinio Fernández (Ecuador) before Ibai Salas (Burgos BH), who is literally clenching his teeth.

Higinio Fernández (Ecuador) before Ibai Salas (Burgos BH), who is literally clenching his teeth. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Ramón Domene (Caja Rural)

Ramón Domene (Caja Rural) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Fran Moreno (Louletano)

Fran Moreno (Louletano) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Gari Bravo (Efapel)

Gari Bravo (Efapel) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Favorites group passes the finish line for the first time, led by Pablo Lastras (Movistar) and Lluis Mas (Caja Rural)

Favorites group passes the finish line for the first time, led by Pablo Lastras (Movistar) and Lluis Mas (Caja Rural) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Mikel Aristi (Euskadi) suffers with Pablo Hidalgo (Ecuador)

Mikel Aristi (Euskadi) suffers with Pablo Hidalgo (Ecuador) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Ramón Domene (Caja Rural) before Fran Ventoso (Movistar) and the rest of the peloton.

Ramón Domene (Caja Rural) before Fran Ventoso (Movistar) and the rest of the peloton. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Jorge Martín Montenegro (Louletano) lives in Granada, a city close to Almería. He was chilling out with his child at the start. "Time for him to enjoy the races".

Jorge Martín Montenegro (Louletano) lives in Granada, a city close to Almería. He was chilling out with his child at the start. "Time for him to enjoy the races". (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Salvador Guardiola is one of the victims of the PinoRoad scam. Today he competed with the Spanish National team and showed his strength with a solid performance: he only lost contact with Movistar group in the final echelons.

Salvador Guardiola is one of the victims of the PinoRoad scam. Today he competed with the Spanish National team and showed his strength with a solid performance: he only lost contact with Movistar group in the final echelons. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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A fan showing the jersey of Jazztel - Costa de Almería, local team that ran from 1999 to 2004 and rode several Vuelta a España. Its more celebrated riders were Fabio Roscioli and José Antonio Pecharromán.

A fan showing the jersey of Jazztel - Costa de Almería, local team that ran from 1999 to 2004 and rode several Vuelta a España. Its more celebrated riders were Fabio Roscioli and José Antonio Pecharromán. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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The feet of Víctor Martín (Burgos BH) always have something curious. He usually wears his lucky socks, which feature Ché Guevara's face. Today he didn't utilised Ché, but freak, leopard-looking cycling shoes by Nike.

The feet of Víctor Martín (Burgos BH) always have something curious. He usually wears his lucky socks, which feature Ché Guevara's face. Today he didn't utilised Ché, but freak, leopard-looking cycling shoes by Nike. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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As well as most of the riders,Luis Ángel Maté (Cofidis) carried milk and other food to the podium as part of a donation campaign for a charity, Banco de Alimentos.

As well as most of the riders,Luis Ángel Maté (Cofidis) carried milk and other food to the podium as part of a donation campaign for a charity, Banco de Alimentos. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Three Efapel riders, with Ricardo Mestre (ex Euskaltel) on the left.

Three Efapel riders, with Ricardo Mestre (ex Euskaltel) on the left. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Fran Moreno, brother of Maribel Moreno, ex Androni and Caja Rural, now riding for Portuguese Continental team Loluletano.

Fran Moreno, brother of Maribel Moreno, ex Androni and Caja Rural, now riding for Portuguese Continental team Loluletano. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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(Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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The family of Igor Merino (Burgos BH) underwent a 12-hours drive from Balmaseda (Bizkaia, near Bilbao) to Almería in order to cheer his tot. He spent the day in the breakaway, so the trip was worth it.

The family of Igor Merino (Burgos BH) underwent a 12-hours drive from Balmaseda (Bizkaia, near Bilbao) to Almería in order to cheer his tot. He spent the day in the breakaway, so the trip was worth it. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Igor Merino (Burgos BH), before Cammaerts (Cofidis) and Mario González (Active Jet).

Igor Merino (Burgos BH), before Cammaerts (Cofidis) and Mario González (Active Jet). (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Sam Bennett (NetApp)

Sam Bennett (NetApp) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Efapel riders, led by Carlos Oyarzun

Efapel riders, led by Carlos Oyarzun (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Bartolomiej Matysiak (CCC)

Bartolomiej Matysiak (CCC) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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The traditional "family photo" with all the cyclist which were honored in the podium.

The traditional "family photo" with all the cyclist which were honored in the podium. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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As special prize for being the best Andalusian rider, Juanjo Lobato (Movistar) got 150kg of gazpacho Solfrío.

As special prize for being the best Andalusian rider, Juanjo Lobato (Movistar) got 150kg of gazpacho Solfrío. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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And then Bennett tries to scratch it out.

And then Bennett tries to scratch it out. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Juanjo Lobato (Movistar) tells Bennett he has a kiss in his face...

Juanjo Lobato (Movistar) tells Bennett he has a kiss in his face... (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Davide Vigano' (Caja Rural) finished third. He said he was not happy and wanted to win today.

Davide Vigano' (Caja Rural) finished third. He said he was not happy and wanted to win today. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Mínguez ready to get the kisses.

Mínguez ready to get the kisses. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Miguel Mínguez (Euskadi) worked hard to get the Mountains classification. This is an important year for him, showing his quality and working for himself in a smaller team than Euskaltel.

Miguel Mínguez (Euskadi) worked hard to get the Mountains classification. This is an important year for him, showing his quality and working for himself in a smaller team than Euskaltel. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Raúl Alarcón (Louletano) won the Intermediate Sprints competition.

Raúl Alarcón (Louletano) won the Intermediate Sprints competition. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Juanjo Lobato (Movistar) gets his trophy as best Andalusian rider. There was a strong wind coming from the West, as notorious in the hair of both the podium girls and ex volleyball player Juanjo Salvador.

Juanjo Lobato (Movistar) gets his trophy as best Andalusian rider. There was a strong wind coming from the West, as notorious in the hair of both the podium girls and ex volleyball player Juanjo Salvador. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Byron Guama (Ecuador) was awarded the most aggressive rider trophy.

Byron Guama (Ecuador) was awarded the most aggressive rider trophy. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Pablo Lastras (Movistar) was the road captain today for his team and was key in building up a success which wasn't complete because of Bennett's speed.

Pablo Lastras (Movistar) was the road captain today for his team and was key in building up a success which wasn't complete because of Bennett's speed. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Tomasz Marczynski (CCC)

Tomasz Marczynski (CCC) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Jérôme Coppel (Cofidis)

Jérôme Coppel (Cofidis) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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(Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Davide Rebellin (CCC)

Davide Rebellin (CCC) (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Diego León Cuervo (Burgos BH) had an important crash while descending in the Fuentes de Marbella. He got hurt and had to retire; fortunately, "nothing is broken" according to his masseur.

Diego León Cuervo (Burgos BH) had an important crash while descending in the Fuentes de Marbella. He got hurt and had to retire; fortunately, "nothing is broken" according to his masseur. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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ROTOR showed off some special edition cranksets for Carlos Sastre and Ryder Hesjedal

ROTOR showed off some special edition cranksets for Carlos Sastre and Ryder Hesjedal (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana spent most of the day driving the chase for their Movistar teammates Juanjo Lobato and Fran Ventoso.

Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana spent most of the day driving the chase for their Movistar teammates Juanjo Lobato and Fran Ventoso. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Despite the circumsntances, Bennett was strong enough to defeat Juanjo Lobato

Despite the circumsntances, Bennett was strong enough to defeat Juanjo Lobato (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Sam Bennett (NetApp) on the podium.

Sam Bennett (NetApp) on the podium. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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Sam Bennett (NetApp) gets the kisses.

Sam Bennett (NetApp) gets the kisses. (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)
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The final podium: Lobato (Movistar), Bennett (NetApp) and Vigano (Caja Rural) l-r

The final podium: Lobato (Movistar), Bennett (NetApp) and Vigano (Caja Rural) l-r (Image credit: Alberto Brevers)

23-year-old Irishman Sam Bennett (Team NetApp – Endura) claimed his first professional win by out sprinting Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) and Davide Vigano (Caja Rural) at the Clásica de Almería. The 29th edition of the race at 178 kilometres saw a break of seven riders get away but their advantage never went above 2:30 minutes. The break was caught with 50km to race and with 20km to race the winning break, which included four NetApp Endura riders, went away and built a one minute on the chasing peloton.

"The guys got me perfectly to about 600m to go. I was well position in the last corner. I had to go at 250m because the pace dropped. I came around everyone and took the inside line. At 100m to go my legs started to buckle and I thought I wasn't going to make it. But luckily I did," Sam Bennett said after his first professional win.

"I am so happy to have taken my first win as a pro with Team NetApp – Endura. It was a very nice race today great weather and great roads. Movistar set a nice hard tempo on the climbs and split it in the final with cross winds. It was good for me because it tired everyone else out and got rid of other sprinters. I want to thank all of my team mates who helped me every single chance they got. They really made my job easier and for sure this result came as a result of great team work", Bennett said

"I am very happy with today's results. An early win is so important for motivating the team. Our guys put in a great team performance yesterday, and today they even managed to surpass that effort. Iker Camano, Tiago Machado, and Erick Rowsell aren't usually Sam's lead-out riders," said Alex Sans Vega, Sport Director of Team NetApp – Endura.

"That is why I am all the more pleased that everything worked so perfectly today and that Sam is able to rely on all of his teammates. I hope that we will be able to maintain this level, the atmosphere in the team and this racing style for our upcoming races," Vega said.

Once the gun was fired, riders were launching multiple attacks at the start of the race which formed the main break of seven after 15 kilometres. The peloton never lost control and after the final climb, 50 kilometres before the finish line, the field all came back together.

The breakaway riders were caught soon thereafter and the field headed towards the finish line as one. The day’s winning break group pulled away 20 kilometres before the finish line with 19 riders and with support from his three teammates, Sam Bennett was able to conserve valuable energy for the final kilometres and win the sprint.

Full Results

Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sam Bennett (Irl) Team Netapp - Endura4:21:33
2Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Movistar Team
3Davide Vigano (Ita) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
4Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
5Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
6Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team0:00:02
7Bartlomiej Matysiak (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice
8Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
9Tiago Machado (Por) Team Netapp - Endura0:00:06
10Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Polsat Polkowice
11David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
12Lukasz Bodnar (Pol) Activejet Team
13Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
14Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
15Iker Camano Ortuzar (Spa) Team Netapp - Endura
16Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
17Erick Rowsell (GBr) Team Netapp - Endura0:00:13
18Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:00:53
19Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team0:01:00
20Rafael Silva (Por) Efapel - Glassdrive0:02:42
21Carlos Ivan Oyarzun Guinez (Chi) Efapel - Glassdrive
22Filipe Duarte Sousa Cardoso (Por) Efapel - Glassdrive
23Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:02:44
24Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice
25Raul Alarcon Garcia (Spa) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
26Pawel Franczak (Pol) Activejet Team
27Antonio Piedra Perez (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
28Víctor De La Parte (Spa) Efapel - Glassdrive
29Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
30Ibai Salas (Spa) Burgos-BH0:02:58
31Emanuel Piaskowy (Pol) Activejet Team
32Michal Podlaski (Pol) Activejet Team0:03:03
33Salvador Guardiola Tora (Spa) Pinoroad0:03:36
34Raul Garcia De Mateo Rubio (Spa) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
35Martin Lestido (Spa)
36Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
37Micael Isidoro (Por) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
38Victor Martin Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH
39Edwig Cammaerts (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
40José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team Netapp - Endura
41Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Spa) Euskadi
42Antonio Molina (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
43Vicente Garcia De Mateos Rubio (Spa) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
44Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskadi
45Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team Netapp - Endura
46Frantisek Padour (Cze) Team Netapp - Endura
47Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team
48Higinio Fernandez (Spa) Team Ecuador
49Bruno Duarte Ferreira Silva (Por) Efapel - Glassdrive
50Yohan Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
51Branislau Samoilau (Blr) CCC Polsat Polkowice
52Adrian Honkisz (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice
53Jorge Martin Montenegro (Arg) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
54Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
55José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
56Grzegorz Stepniak (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:05:32
57Tomasz Mickiewicz (Pol) Activejet Team
58Samuel Nicolás (Spa)
59Francisco Javier Moreno Allue (Spa) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
60Rui Vinhas (Por) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
61Eugeniu Cozonac (Mda) Louletano - Dunas Douradas
62Haritz Orbe Urrutia (Spa) Euskadi
63Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Euskadi
64Bayron Guama De La Cruz (Ecu) Team Ecuador
65Pablo Lechuga Rodriguez (Spa) Euskadi
66Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
67Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi
68Jaume Rovira Pous (Spa) Team Ecuador
69Mario Gonzalez Salas (Spa) Activejet Team
70Igor Merino Cortazar (Spa) Burgos-BH
71Illart Zuazubiskar Gallastegi (Spa) Euskadi0:13:55
72Ricardo Mestre (Por) Efapel - Glassdrive
73Federico Butto (Ita) Burgos-BH
74Marcos Altur Boronat (Spa)
75Henry Marcelo Velasco Cevallos (Ecu) Team Ecuador
76Isaac Carbonell Rabat (Spa) Team Ecuador
77Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Efapel - Glassdrive
78Konrad Dabkowski (Pol) Activejet Team
79Jose Ragonessi (Ecu) Team Ecuador
80Unai Arranz Alonso (Spa) Burgos-BH
81Segundo Navarrete (Ecu) Team Ecuador
82Álvaro Martínez (Spa)
83Mikel Aristi Gardoki (Spa) Euskadi
84Imanol Estévez (Spa)0:15:45
DNFLuis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
DNFRamon Domene Reyes (Spa) Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
DNFJavier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team
DNFDiego Leon Cuervo Zambraro (Spa) Burgos-BH
DNFAnder Arranz Alonso (Spa) Burgos-BH
DNFAlvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Etixx
DNFAntonio Jesus Soto (Spa)
DNFDiego Rubio (Spa) Efapel - Glassdrive
DNFPablo Miguel Hidalgo Vega (Ecu) Team Ecuador
DNFSlawomir Chrzanowski (Pol) Activejet Team

 

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