Pelucchi wins Mallorca Challenge opener in Campos

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Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) won the bunch sprint in the opening race of the Mallorca Challenge in the Trofeo Santanyi-Ses Salines-Campos on Thursday. The Italian claimed IAM Cycling’s first victory as a WorldTour team by a clear margin over Team Sky’s Elia Viviani and Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar).

A crash in the final three kilometres took down MTN-Qhubeka’s Andreas Stauff, who broke his clavical in the fall.

The 175-kilometre Trofeo Santanyi-Ses Salines-Campos marks the beginning of the European season. Keen to get their season off to a bang, Damien Garcia (Team Froy-Oslo) and Alex Kirsch (CULT Energy) forced a break in the opening kilometres. The duo built up a lead of more than 11 minutes at one point before the halfway point. Garcia was the first to crack, leaving Kirsch to forge on alone until he too was finally caught with 23 kilometres to go.

The sprinters teams kept it all together as they neared the finish line in Campos with Team Sky leading the bunch into the final five kilometres. Ben Swift led out his new teammate Viviani into the finishing straight but the Italian didn’t have the legs to fend off his compatriot Pelucchi.

The second race of the Mallorca Challenge, the Trofeo Alcudia, will take place on Friday, January 30.

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