Luis León Sánchez claims first Spanish road race title

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After settling for silver and bronze medals in the past, Luis León Sánchez (Astana) claimed his first national road race title on Sunday with a thrilling victory at the Spanish Championships. 

"I am so happy to win the title of the national champion in the road race. After many attempts and podium places, finally, I did it!" Sánchez said. "It is a great feeling to become the National Champion and I will be proud and happy to wear the jersey of the Spanish Champion during the next year all around the world."

The 36-year-old, who was runner-up last year and third in 2013, clinched the medal and jersey after tracking down Jesús Herrada (Cofidis) in the last few kilometres and passing him 400 metres from the line. 

Herrada then suffered a mechanical on the technical cobbled run-in, which, although the gold medal appeared to have disappeared, took away a podium finish. The two-time champion suffered the ignominy of having to walk to the line while several others rolled past him, with Gorka Izagirre making it a 1-2 for Astana, and Vicente García de Mateos (Aviludo-Louletano) claiming the final podium spot. 

As Sánchez burst into tears beyond the line, Herrada looked shell-shocked as he walked across the line then hunched over his bike in disbelief. He looked to be well on his way to a third title when he launched a stinging attack on the fifth and final climb of Mazuecos, the centrepiece of the 25-kilometre circuit that made up much of the 185km route. 

The race had been reduced to 30 riders by the bottom of the 8km climb and after a spate of attacks, including fellow Cofidis rider Fernando Barceló, Herrada soared clear with 4km to go. It looked to be the winning move but Sánchez was able to lean on teammate Izagirre before setting off in pursuit at the top of the climb with 2.5km to go. 

Despite Herrada's impressive attack, the tables turned on the run-in, as Sánchez, grinding a huge gear, stalked his prey, who was frantically pedalling at a much higher cadence amid worried looks back. 

Sánchez made the catch inside the final kilometre before accelerating away inside 500m to create a little daylight for the last twisting, cobbled corners. He then sprang up to sprint for the line, as Herrada looked down at his gears and realised they were jammed. It probably didn't affect the destination of the gold medal, as Sánchez's power in the finale appeared decisive, but it did cost him a medal, and even a place in the top 10.

"It was a very hard race, difficult to control with a lot of attacks. I was staying in the group, waiting and waiting for the best moment," Sánchez said. "When Jesus Herrada went away, I decided to follow him. Once I caught him, I waited until some 500-600 meters to go and gave my all to the finish line."