Matthews wins Pais Vasco opener
Australian takes bunch sprint in Bilbao
Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) won the opening stage at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco from a small group sprint on the streets of Bilbao, Spain. The Australian sprinter made it through the hilly stage with a front group of roughly 50 riders to take the sprint ahead of world champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha).
“I was quite confident going into the stage,” Matthews said. “We did a recon of the final climb yesterday and I knew what I was in for, it just came down to what legs I had today. It turned out I had really good legs, got myself over the climb and I knew from that reduced bunch I had a pretty good chance of cleaning up the sprint.
“The Yates brothers were following a lot of attacks in the final five kilometres, which was great that I didn’t have to worry about any of them. There wasn’t any lead out trains, it was more of a grovel, so I just placed myself within the top five in the final and started my sprint a little earlier, rather than waiting like I did in San Remo, so I couldn’t get boxed in.”
The opening stage of Pais Vasco was a 162.7km stage in and around Bilbao. The stage had three categorized climbs on the Alto de Morga, and twice up the Alto del Vivero.
A breakaway of three riders formed that included Brian Bulgac (LottoNL-Jumbo), Omar Fraile (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis), who had a gap of over five minutes, but that was reduced to 3:30 with roughly 60km to go.
Fraile made a solo attack from the breakaway on a smaller climb with just over 35km to go, leaving his companions to be swallowed up by the chasing peloton.
He held a gap of 2:13 minutes with about 25km left in the race, but that gap drastically dropped as the peloton behind made more of a concerted effort to chase. With 17km remaining, and on the last climb over Alto del Vivero, Fraile’s lead was down to 30 seconds largely thanks to the chase coming from Team Movistar.
Back the field, Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing) was forced off his bike to deal with a dropped chain at the side of the road. It was bad timing as the attacking started with Sergio Henao (Team Sky) and then Lieuwe Westra (Astana), who was followed by Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep). The series of attacks were not enough to shake Matthews from the front group over the final climb and he remained the man to beat as the dwindled group created the climb and then descended toward the finish line.
Martin took the lead on the fast descent into Bilbao with a long, fragmented line of riders in single file behind. Although several riders attempted to breakaway, including Philippe Gilbert (BMC), they were no match for Martin’s lead-out into the final kilometre with Kwiatkowski on his wheel.
Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) was the first to start the sprint but Matthews jumped next and came around both Kwiatkowski and Gallopin at the line. Zakarin took third place and Reza fourth, leaving Gallopin in fifth.
"I'm happy with today's stage," Kwiatkowski said. "It was a hard final with the 2nd category climb where we didn't reach the summit until 13.5 km before the finish. It was not so easy to control because there were guys trying to escape on that climb, but the team rode perfectly. I had Tony, Carlos Verona, and Petr Vakoc with me in the front group. I also had my other teammates put me into perfect position going into the climb, as it was basically a sprint to get to the front before then.
“It was really nervous all the way to the line. Everyone wanted to show themselves as they usually do in the opening stage of this kind of race. I am happy with my 2nd place on a day like today. I waited a bit too long before launching, but sprinting is also not my top skill and Matthews is a strong guy for the sprints. He deserved the win. I had good legs in today's stage, and that is the most important thing for me, especially considering I want to fine tune my condition prior to the Ardennes Classics. As for the next stages, we will take it day-by-day."
The Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco will continue with stage 2’s 175.4km race from Bilbao to Vitoria-Gasteiz on Tuesday.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | 3:57:07 |
2 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
3 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
4 | Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
5 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | |
6 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
7 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
8 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
9 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
10 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha | |
11 | Janier Acevedo (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
12 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
13 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
14 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | |
15 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
16 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
17 | Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | |
18 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
19 | Yohan Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
20 | Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | |
21 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge | |
22 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
23 | Andre Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
24 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing | |
25 | Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
26 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
27 | Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | |
28 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
29 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
30 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
31 | Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha | |
32 | Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
33 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team | |
34 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Sky | |
35 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
36 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
37 | Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
38 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
39 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
40 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
41 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha | |
42 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
43 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
44 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
45 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team | |
46 | Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | |
47 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
48 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
49 | David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky | |
50 | Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team | |
51 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
52 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | |
53 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
54 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
55 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
56 | Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | |
57 | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | |
58 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team | |
59 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
60 | Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:01:34 |
61 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida | |
62 | Jonathan Fumeaux (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
63 | Patrick Schelling (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
64 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
65 | Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
66 | José Herrada (Spa) Movistar Team | |
67 | Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling | 0:03:09 |
68 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling | |
69 | Lawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM Cycling | |
70 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge | |
71 | Alexander Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha | |
72 | Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
73 | Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek Factory Racing | |
74 | Martijn Keizer (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
75 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
76 | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
77 | Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:03:09 |
78 | George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
79 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team | |
80 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | |
81 | Angel Vicioso (Spa) Team Katusha | |
82 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
83 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky | |
84 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
85 | Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida | |
86 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
87 | Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
88 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
89 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky | |
90 | Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
91 | Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
92 | Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
93 | Carlos Betancur (Col) AG2R La Mondiale | |
94 | David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
95 | Jose Rodolfo Serpa (Col) Lampre-Merida | |
96 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
97 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
98 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling | 0:05:49 |
99 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
100 | Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:07:30 |
101 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
102 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:07:44 |
103 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
104 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
105 | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
106 | Eduard Beltran (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
107 | Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing | |
108 | David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling | |
109 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | |
110 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge | |
111 | Antonio Molina (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
112 | Hugh Carthy (GBr) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
113 | Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
114 | Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ.fr | |
115 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
116 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
117 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
118 | Fredrik Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:08:42 |
119 | Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
120 | Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
121 | Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
122 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
123 | Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
124 | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
125 | Brian Bulgac (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:10:05 |
126 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
127 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
128 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
129 | Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | |
130 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
131 | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
132 | Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
133 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
134 | Igor Anton (Spa) Movistar Team | |
135 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
136 | Kevin De Weert (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | |
137 | Cheng Ji (Chn) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
138 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
139 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
140 | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
141 | Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
142 | Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky | |
143 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge | |
144 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
145 | Carter Jones (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
146 | Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Team Sky | |
147 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | |
148 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:26:00 |
149 | Peter Stetina (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
150 | Sergio Pardilla (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | 25 | pts |
2 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | 20 | |
3 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | 16 | |
4 | Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ.fr | 14 | |
5 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | 12 | |
6 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 10 | |
7 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | 9 | |
8 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 8 | |
9 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step | 7 | |
10 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha | 6 | |
11 | Janier Acevedo (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 5 | |
12 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 4 | |
13 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 3 | |
14 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | 2 | |
15 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 3 | pts |
2 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2 | |
3 | Brian Bulgac (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6 | pts |
2 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 4 | |
3 | Brian Bulgac (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 2 | |
4 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Team Sky | 6 | pts |
2 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 4 | |
3 | Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team | 2 | |
4 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 3 | pts |
2 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 2 | |
3 | Igor Anton (Spa) Movistar Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 3 | pts |
2 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 2 | |
3 | Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 3 | pts |
2 | Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 2 | |
3 | Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Etixx - Quick Step | 11:51:21 |
2 | Katusha Team | |
3 | Orica GreenEDGE | |
4 | Cofidis Solutions Crédits | |
5 | Astana Pro Team | |
6 | BMC Racing Team | |
7 | Team Cannondale - Garmin | |
8 | Lotto Soudal | |
9 | Trek Factory Racing | |
10 | Equipe Cycliste FDJ.fr | |
11 | Tinkoff - Saxo | |
12 | Ag2r La Mondiale | |
13 | Team Sky | |
14 | Movistar Team | |
15 | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | |
16 | Lampre - Merida | 0:04:43 |
17 | IAM Cycling | 0:06:17 |
18 | Team Giant - Alpecin | 0:11:51 |
19 | Team Lotto NL - Jumbo | 0:14:02 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | 3:57:07 |
2 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
3 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
4 | Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
5 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | |
6 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
7 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
8 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
9 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
10 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha | |
11 | Janier Acevedo (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
12 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
13 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
14 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team | |
15 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
16 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
17 | Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | |
18 | Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
19 | Yohan Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
20 | Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida | |
21 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge | |
22 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
23 | Andre Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
24 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing | |
25 | Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
26 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
27 | Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | |
28 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
29 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
30 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
31 | Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha | |
32 | Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
33 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team | |
34 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Sky | |
35 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
36 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
37 | Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
38 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
39 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
40 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
41 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha | |
42 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
43 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
44 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
45 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team | |
46 | Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | |
47 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
48 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
49 | David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky | |
50 | Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team | |
51 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
52 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | |
53 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
54 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
55 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
56 | Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge | |
57 | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | |
58 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team | |
59 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
60 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
61 | Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
62 | José Herrada (Spa) Movistar Team | |
63 | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
64 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
65 | Peter Stetina (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
66 | Sergio Pardilla (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
67 | Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:01:34 |
68 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida | |
69 | Jonathan Fumeaux (Swi) IAM Cycling | |