Caleb Ewan wins Clasica de Almeria
By Cycling News
Australian beats Danny van Poppel and Timothy Dupont
Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) sprinted to victory in the Clasica de Almeria after delivering a powerful sprint to see off the challenges of Danny van Poppel (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Timothy Dupont (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) in the finishing straight.
"It's really good to hit the ground running in my first European race and it was good to have the full lead-out squad behind me today," Ewan said. "We were all a bit lost after getting caught behind a crash but once we all got back together and started the lead-out, no-one came round us and I am happy I was able to finish it off."
The Clasica de Almeria was Ewan’s first race in Europe this season, though the Australian was already off the mark for 2018 with stage victory at the Tour Down Under last month. Ewan is set to make his Tour de France debut this season, and his next competitive outing will come at the Abu Dhabi Tour from February 21.
"I haven't raced with these lead-out guys since the Tour of Britain so that's a fair chunk of time away. It is good to get the confidence back in working together and that nothing has really changed, that is what we needed going into these next big races," Ewan said.
"I felt pretty tired during the day because we did five hours training yesterday, so I didn't feel great but in the final when the adrenalin kicks in I felt alright and overall it was a good day."
The 185km Clasica de Almeria was always likely to end in a bunch finish, but that did not deter a platoon of willing escapees from trying their luck in the opening kilometres. Axel Journiaux (Direct Energie), Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH), Dries De Bondt (Vérandas Willems-Crelan), Maxim Belkov (Katusha-Alpecin), Rob Britton (Rally Cycling), Cristian Rodríguez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Marc Buades (Fundación Euskadi) forged clear shortly after the flag dropped, and they had a lead of 4 minutes by the time they hit the 20km mark.
After 50km, Mitchelton-Scott and LottoNL-Jumbo began to combine their efforts on the front of the peloton to keep the break’s advantage under control. The escapees’ buffer dropped still further on the climbs of the Collado de Lucainena, Balcón de Sierra Alhamilla and Alto de Turrillas, and they entered the final 50km with a lead of 1:30 over the peloton.
The break eventually fizzled out inside the final 30km, and though there were a few attempts at attacks on the run-in to the finish in Roquetas de Mar, the searing pace imposed by the sprinters’ teams, and LottoNL-Jumbo and Mitchelton-Scott in particular, meant that a bunch finish was inevitable.
Van Poppel was not lacking in confidence after his recent stage win at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, but there was little he could do against Ewan, who tucked into his familiar aerodynamic stance to finish off Mitchelton-Scott’s lead-out with a smart win.
Van Poppel was the best of the rest, beating Dupont to second, while Hugo Hofstetter (Cofidis) took fourth ahead of Florian Senechal (Quick-Step Floors).
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 4:35:28 |
2 | Danny van Poppel (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | |
3 | Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | |
4 | Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
5 | Florian Senechal (Fra) Quick-Step Floors | |
6 | Marko Kump (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
7 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin | |
8 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
9 | Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
10 | Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | |
11 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | |
12 | Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
13 | Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | |
14 | Luis Guillermo Mas Bonet (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
15 | Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team | |
16 | Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
17 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
18 | José Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team | |
19 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
20 | Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
21 | Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos BH | |
22 | Ryan Anderson (Can) Rally Cycling | |
23 | Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | |
24 | Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | |
25 | Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott | |
26 | Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
27 | Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:00:07 |
28 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | |
29 | Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
30 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | |
31 | Nick van der Lijke (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | |
32 | Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo | |
33 | Michael Goolaerts (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | 0:00:18 |
34 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:21 |
35 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Mitchelton-Scott | |
36 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:00:25 |
37 | Stef Clement (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:00:29 |
38 | Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:33 |
39 | Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
40 | Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:36 |
41 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott | |
42 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott | |
43 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie | |
44 | Ibai Salas Zorrozua (Spa) Burgos BH | 0:00:46 |
45 | Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos BH | |
46 | Evgeny Kobernyak (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
47 | Peio Goikoetxea Goiogana (Spa) Team Euskadi | |
48 | Senne Leysen (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
50 | Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
51 | Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin | |
52 | Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | |
53 | Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
54 | Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team | |
55 | Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
56 | Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
57 | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team | |
58 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
59 | Jon Ander Insausti (Spa) Team Euskadi | |
60 | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
61 | Sergei Shilov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
62 | Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
63 | Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
64 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors | |
65 | Josu Zabala Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
66 | Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors | |
67 | Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
68 | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
69 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | |
70 | Jan Willem van Schip (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | |
71 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | |
72 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
73 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | |
74 | Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally Cycling | |
75 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team | 0:01:10 |
76 | Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:01:37 |
77 | Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
78 | Robbert de Greef (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | 0:01:52 |
79 | Pablo Torres Muiño (Spa) Burgos BH | |
80 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | |
81 | Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:57 |
82 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:02:00 |
83 | Floris De Tier (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:02:23 |
84 | Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | |
85 | Neilson Powless (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo | |
86 | Nikolai Cherkasov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
87 | Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Movistar Team | |
88 | Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling | |
89 | Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:03:06 |
90 | Simon Sellier (Fra) Direct Energie | |
91 | Ricardo Garcia (Spa) Team Euskadi | 0:03:21 |
92 | Ibai Azurmendi (Spa) Team Euskadi | |
93 | Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 0:03:28 |
94 | Stijn Steels (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
95 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie | |
96 | Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 0:03:40 |
98 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:04:04 |
99 | Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:04:26 |
100 | Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | |
101 | James Mitri (GBr) Burgos-BH | |
102 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott | |
103 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
104 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team | |
105 | Mauricio Moreira (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
106 | Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin | |
107 | Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | |
108 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | |
109 | Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
110 | Nelson Andres Soto Martinez (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
111 | Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | |
112 | Egoitz Fernandez (Spa) Team Euskadi | |
113 | Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally Cycling | |
114 | Nigel Ellsay (Can) Rally Cycling | |
115 | Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | |
116 | Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty-Group Gobert | |
117 | Etienne van Empel (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | |
118 | Alexander Foliforov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
119 | Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
120 | José Mendes (Por) Burgos BH | |
121 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
122 | Christophe Noppe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
123 | Mathias Van Gompel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 0:04:49 |
124 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:05:25 |
125 | Mikel Alonso (Spa) Team Euskadi | |
126 | Marc Buades Ferriol (Spa) Team Euskadi | |
127 | Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos BH | |
128 | Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:07:35 |
129 | Koen Bouwmam (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:10:42 |
DNF | Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | |
DNF | Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling | |
DNF | Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Rally Cycling | |
DNF | David Tanner (Aus) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
DNS | Michal Schlegel (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
DNS | Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 3 | pts |
2 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2 | |
3 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 3 | pts |
2 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 2 | |
3 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 3 | pts |
2 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2 | |
3 | Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6 | pts |
2 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 4 | |
3 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 2 | |
4 | Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 3 | pts |
2 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | 2 | |
3 | Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos BH | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | 3 | pts |
2 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 2 | |
3 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | 3 | pts |
2 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 2 | |
3 | Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos BH | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | 3 | pts |
2 | Axel Journiaux (Fra) Direct Energie | 2 | |
3 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 11 | pts |
2 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 7 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | 11 | pts |
2 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 3 | |
3 | Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos BH | 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos BH | 4:36:14 |
2 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:04:39 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Movistar Team | 13:46:24 |
2 | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:00:07 |
3 | Euskadi Basque Country | |
4 | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:00:14 |
5 | Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:21 |
6 | Astana Pro Team | 0:00:33 |
7 | Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:00:36 |
8 | Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:46 |
9 | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
10 | Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | 0:00:53 |
11 | Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:57 |
12 | Direct Energie | 0:01:01 |
13 | Veranda's Willems Crelan | 0:01:04 |
14 | Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:32 |
15 | Burgos-BH | |
16 | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
17 | Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:10 |
18 | Gazprom–Rusvelo | 0:02:18 |
19 | Rally Cycling | 0:03:09 |
20 | Team Euskadi | 0:04:53 |
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