Howard strikes again at Challenge Mallorca
Aussie prevails in Platja de Muro
Orica GreenEdge scored double success in the final race of the Challenge Mallorca, delivering Leigh Howard to his second sprint victory in the Trofeo Platja de Muro, and bagging the mountains classification on the day thanks to Michael Matthews.
Howard out-sprinted Maarten Wynants (Blanco) and Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida) by a large margin to win on the day.
"It was a fantastic team effort that I was pleased to finish with a victory," Howard said.
The victory was aided in part by Matthews, who was in the breakaway but after taking out three of the four mountain sprints on offer, he dropped back to help the lead-out train.
"We really wanted a rider in the early break," said Orica's directeur sportif Neil Stephens. "This took the pressure off us and also gave us an extra rider up the road ahead of the finish."
The day's break began only 33km into the stage, with a large group going clear including Xabier Zandio (Sky), Angel Madrazo (Movistar), Pierre Serry (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel Euskadi), Robert Gesink and Jos Van Emden (Blanco), Michael Mathews (Orica GreenEdge), Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida), Bjorn Thurau (Europcar) and Christophe Pfingstein (CT Rijke Shanks).
The hilly parcours reduced the number of sprinters remaining in the peloton, according to Howard. "At the top of the final climb the only sprinters left were Ben Swift, Rojas, Robbie Hunter and myself. It was good for our team because we still had about six or seven guys left – Christian Meier, Wes Sulzberger, Pieter Weening, Sebastian Langeveld, Michael Albasini and myself."
Once the breakaway was brought back through the efforts of both Orica GreenEdge and Movistar, there were less than 40 riders left in the leading group.
"Movistar's riders led out Rojas and he hit out too early, consequently fading to finish fifth. I went around the righthand side and ended up with a comfortable win," said Howard.
It has been a solid warm-up for the season for the young Australian, who is looking forward to taking on the first race of the year in Belgium, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. "It's a realistic goal to give it a good nudge in Belgium. In 2011, my good mate Chris Sutton won the event and last season Mark Cavendish took the victory, so it'd be a fantastic race to win.
"After that Paris-Nice is the next big tour and I'd certainly like to do better there this year than last year. I've just been trying to focus on being more consistent in my sprinting and so far it looks like it's working!"
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 4:15:29 |
2 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Sharp | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky Procycling | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team | 0:00:03 |
14 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) RusVelo | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:00:09 |
26 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:13 |
27 | Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:00:15 |
31 | Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | 0:00:24 |
35 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:00:35 |
36 | Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:00:47 |
37 | Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 0:01:47 |
39 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Sky Procycling | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Edwig Cammaerts (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | David Belda Garcia (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | 0:03:35 |
44 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | 0:03:49 |
45 | Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Liam Holohan (GBr) Madison Genesis | 0:05:19 |
51 | Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Marc Goos (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Gaetan Bille (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Ian Bibby (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Katusha | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Dennis Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:08:25 |
62 | Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Alex Peters (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Sharp | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Ike Groen (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Jos Van Emden (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Jérémy Bescond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Igor Merino Cortazar (Spa) Euskadi | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Aritz Bagües (Spa) Euskadi | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Mikel Bizkarra (Spa) Euskadi | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
81 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Caleb Fairly (USA) Garmin-Sharp | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Robert Wagner (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | 0:12:39 |
94 | Sjoerd Kouwenhoven (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Antonio Piedra Perez (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Karol Domagalski (Pol) Caja Rural | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
99 | Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Spa) Euskadi | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
100 | Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
101 | Omar Fraile Matarranza (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Marcos Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
103 | Artur Ershov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:12:43 |
106 | Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | 0:24:36 |
OTL | Bas Stamsnijder (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | 0:24:43 |
OTL | Juan Carlos Riutort Martinez (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Illart Zuazubiskar Gallastegi (Spa) Euskadi | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Thomas Raeymaekers (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Juan Carlos Larrinaga Muguruza (Spa) Euskadi | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Huub Duyn (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Haritz Orbe Urrutia (Spa) Euskadi | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Gennadiy Tatarinov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Alexander Rybakov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Moises Duenas Nevado (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Dominic Jelfs (Irl) Madison Genesis | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Pablo Torres Muino (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Darío Hernández (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Efren Carazo (Spa) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Anthony Charteau (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Joshua Edmondson (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Team Europcar | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
OTL | Mikel Aristi Gardoki (Spa) Euskadi | 0:25:00 |
OTL | Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Madison Genesis | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Steffen Radochla (Ger) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 151 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 152 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol | Row 153 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Sharp | Row 154 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Sharp | Row 155 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp | Row 156 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nick Nuyens (Bel) Garmin-Sharp | Row 157 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 158 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Katusha | Row 159 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha | Row 160 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) Katusha | Row 161 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Timofey Kritskiy (Rus) Katusha | Row 162 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Morgan Lamoisson (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 163 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 164 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 165 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Caja Rural | Row 166 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yelko Gomez (Pan) Caja Rural | Row 167 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 168 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 169 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrea Ciacchini (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 170 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paolo Cravanzola (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 171 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Roman Maikin (Rus) RusVelo | Row 172 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Valery Kaykov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 173 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Leonid Krasnov (Rus) RusVelo | Row 174 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Igor Boev (Rus) RusVelo | Row 175 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bob Schoonbroodt (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 176 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ronan Van Zandbeek (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | Row 177 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Brennan Townshend (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 178 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Baylis (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 179 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dean Downing (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 180 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jack Pullar (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 181 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chris Snook (GBr) Madison Genesis | Row 182 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Steve Bekaert (Bel) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 183 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Federico Butto (Ita) Burgos BH-Castilla y Leon | Row 184 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Unai Iparragirre (Spa) Euskadi | Row 185 - Cell 2 |
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