Mallorca Challenge: McLay wins close run Trofeo Palma sprint

Dan McLay (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) took victory on the final day of competition at the Mallorca Challenge, sprinting to victory in the Trofeo Palma. It was a close run fight, and the jury had to resort to a photo finish to split McLay and Bora-Hansgrohe's Matteo Pelucchi, with initial reports stating that it had been the Italian who was the victor. Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) tried to split the two, driving up the middle of the road and finishing third.

The joy of victory was short-lived for McLay, who crashed soon after crossing the line. Fortunately, McLay was ok, despite bleeding from his lip.

The Mallorca Challenge closed out with a 161km loop out and back from Palma on the west side of the island. With a couple of climbs in the latter stages of the race, there was an opportunity for a breakaway, but a sprint finish would be most likely.

The day kicked off with an attack from Luis Mas Bonet (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) as soon as the neutral zone ended. It wasn't to be, and there were more moves out of the bunch, including one from Dayer Quintana that signalled Movistar's intentions going forward. After 10 kilometres, the peloton finally let a group of riders build up a small advantage.

Uri Martins Sandoval and Danilo Celano (both Amore & Vita-Selle SMP), Gaspar Mas (Nice Cycling Team), Julio Alberto Amores (Interja Dominican Cycling) and Pello Olaberria (Euskadi Basque Country) made up the group that got away. The gap between themselves and the calm and collected bunch behind built up to 4:20 at the 30km mark before the peloton decided to begin bringing them back.

With still 100 kilometres to go and the finishing circuit looming, the five up front had only two minutes to play with. A brief moment of respite came when the window opened a little, but it didn't last the inevitable catch loomed ever closer. The handshakes came with a touch under 60 kilometres to the line, and the five were absorbed back into the peloton.

Having been dormant since the early attack of Dayer Quintana, Movistar struck out again with 49km to go. This time it was in the form of Dayer's older brother Nairo, who made his move in the hillier section of the course. Quintana was allowed a large 1:30 gap before his teammate Alejandro Valverde attacked with Lotto-Soudal's Jurgen Roelandts. The trio came together as the race entered the final circuits around Palma, but the peloton was chasing hard behind, led by Bora-Hansgrohe and Fortuneo Vital Concept.

Just before the final lap, Valverde, Quintana and Roelandts were brought back by the peloton, which began setting its self up for the bunch sprint. As the road curved slightly, Pelucchi chose the left side of the road while McLay picked the right. McLay had little more than a tyre's width between himself and Pelucchi on the line, but it was enough to seal the victory. Bouhanni was close behind while Andre Greipel got boxed in between Bouhanni and Pelucchi, and finished fourth.

Full Results