Ventoso victorious in first road stage

Francisco José Ventoso (Carmiooro - A-Style) won the second stage of the Vuelta Ciclista Internacional a la Comunidad de Madrid on Saturday, outsprinting Aaron Kemps (Rock Racing) and Francisco Jose Pacheco (Contentpolis-Ampo) in the bunch gallop to the finish in Coslada.

"I am very happy with this victory," said Ventoso. "I've had many months without competition and I did not expect to win at this time. My goal for tomorrow is to get the points jersey."

The stage began with many attacks, but none proved successful until kilometre 36 when Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Burgos Monumental - Castilla y Leon, Nicolas Jonathan Castroviejo (Orbea) and David Tanner (Rock Racing) escaped the peloton. The peloton split in the crosswinds while pursuing the break, but the field came back together and absorbed the break prior to the second ascent of Torres de la Alameda.

On the Torres de la Alameda climb 13 riders powered away from the peloton including Manuel Vazquez (Contentpolis-Ampo), Alberto Losada, Francisco Perez Sanchez and José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Caisse d'Epargne), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Arkaitz Durán (Fuji-Servetto ), Jose Antonio Carrasco and Jesús Rosendo (Andalucía Cajasur), Edwin Parra (Boyaca Es Para Vivirla), Fabio Duarte (Colombia Es Pasion Coldeportes), David Martin (Rock Racing), Ángel Vallejo (Grandevalira Andorra) and Ventoso. The break extended its lead to 1:14 over the peloton, but the chase efforts of Xacobeo Galicia and Liberty Seguros neutralised the escape.

Vazquez, Losada, Rosendo and Martin attacked again and were joined by Ezequiel Mosquera and Vladimir Isaichev (Xacobeo Galicia), Antonio Olmo and William Aranzazo Escobar (Boyaca Es Para Vivirla), Andoni Blazquez (Orbea) and Javier Aramendia (Euskaltel - Euskadi). The break reached a maximum advantage of 2:14 over the field, but the Fuji-Servetto and Burgos Monumental - Castilla y Leon teams brought them back with only five kilometres remaining in the stage.

The teams of the sprinters prepared for the field sprint in which Ventoso proved the fastest.