Valverde wins GP Miguel Indurain

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It seemed unlikely, but over the past 16 years no rider from Eusebio Unzué's teams has scored a victory in the GP Miguel Indurain. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finally broke the losing streak with a valiant solo effort from the final classified climb 10km to the finish.

Valverde bridged across to the remains of the day's 18-rider breakaway, which had shrunk to just six riders on the fifth of eight categorized climbs, with 35km to go.

Joined by Tom-Jelte Slagter (Garmin-Sharp) and Sergey Chernetskiy (Katusha), Valverde attacked again on the category 2 Eraul and rode solo to the finish, where he dedicated his victory to local cycling promoter José Luis Oreja, who died in February.

"I wanted so much to win here. The team was sensational," Valverde said. "It was a really demanding circuit, but fortunately, it didn't rain as much as expected. The rivals were fatigued after the work the guys did, and at the last lap through the Ibarra climb, I saw it was time to attack. I had thought of moving again on the Muru, the last slope before the Puy, but looking at how the race was developing, I anticipated it and tried in Eraul. Fortunately, that attack was enough.

"This victory is a confirmation that I'm still in good form. Now it's time for País Vasco and the classics, my big goals. I knew I would be in good fitness for those, and I did well today, but País Vasco will be that last bit I'm lacking yet. We will have a hard stage already on Monday, one to be concentrated and always ride up front. This victory goes to all the fans that were on the roads supporting us, and especially to José Luis Oreja, an important person for cycling in Navarra who passed away recently."

The day's breakaway went away from the first kilometers of the 187km race, when Gorka Izagirre put in the first digs for Movistar. He was joined first by Katusha's Pavel Brutt and his own teammate Herrada before a group of 15 riders made their way across by kilometer 11.

The breakaway included Brutt, Egor Silin and Alexandr Kolobnev from Katusha, Herrada and Izagirre of Movistar, Javier Acevedo and Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Ángel Madrazo, Heiner Parra and Antonio Molina (Caja Rural), Haritz Orbe and Jon Larrinaga (Euskadi), David Belda and Pablo Torres (Burgos), Jordi Simon (Ecuador), Raúl Alarcón (Louletano), and Evgeny Shalunov and Arkimedes Arguelyes (Lokosphinx).

Torres took out the first two special sprints, while Haas set about winning the first climb and the second sprint at kilometer 80 and 91, respectively. Alarcón managed to deny Haas the next sprint, but the Garmin rider took his revenge in the next two climbs and the next sprint.

Three riders were jettisoned on the Eruel with 83km remaining, and by the Alto Guirguillano, an attack by Belda, Larringa and Shalunov shattered the move. Belda left the other two behind, and only five riders could make it across to the solo Spaniard: Haas, Herrada, Brutt, Izagirre and Simon, making six in front.

Haas resumed his position at the head of the breakaway atop the Guirguillano, but the gap to the peloton had shrunk to just over a minute.

The six were caught with 32km left to race, and soon a new attack went clear - this time with Sergey Chernetsky (Katusha), John Gadret, Jesus Herrada and José Herrada (Movistar), Andre Cardoso and Nathan Haas (Garmin), David Arroyo (Caja Rural) and Jesus Del Pino (Burgos).

Haas, clearly on a tear, kept pushing the pace in the breakaway, but on the penultimate climb with 20km to go, the effort proved too great for the Australian, and his Herculean effort was done. Valverde then bridged across, and helped by his lieutenants, was given a springboard to go solo on the Eraul with 12km to go.

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