Isaac Del Toro solos to opening stage win at Vuelta Asturias

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) won the opening stage at the Vuelta Asturias and took the event's first leader's jersey.

Del Toro made a late-race attack and crossed the line 1:01 ahead of runner-up and teammate Rafał Majka, while Eric Antonio Fagúndez (Burgos-BH) finished in third on the day.

Del Toro now leads the overall classification by 1:05 over Majka and 1:10 ahead of Fagúndez as the race continues on stage 2 on Saturday.

The opening stage at Vuelta Asturias was a demanding 180km from Cangas del Narcea to Pola de Lena. 

A six-rider breakaway  Francisco Muñoz (Team Polti Kometa), Oliver Rees (Sabgal-Anicolor), José María García and Asier Pablo Gonzalez (Illes Balears Arabay), Ibon Ruiz (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Victor Martínez (Sidi Ali-Unlock).

They gained a maximum of five minutes on the field led by UAE Team Emirates, as and with 70km to go, they raced toward the fourth of five climbs during the stage, Alto Tenebreo.

Some 40 riders made up the main field in the closing kilometres, with the breakaway caught at about 20km from the line.

A late-race move included José Manuel Díaz (Burgos-BH) and Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar), and while they gained 40 seconds, their efforts came to an end with five kilometres to go.

Del Torro made his winning move with a counter-attack and pushed his lead out to a minute as he crossed the line with a solo victory in Pola de Lena.

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