Leigh Howard (IAM Cycling) just about edges the sprint that decided the Clasica de Almeria in Spain, a race that took less than half an hour to complete. High winds forced the race to be reduced to just 24.5 kilometres.
Just days after we brought you news of hurricane-force winds forcing a race in Spain to be cancelled, more extreme weather saw the 2.1-ranked Clasica de Almeria reduced to a farcical 24.5 kilometres on Sunday.
Originally planned were 184 kilometres and a number of testing climbs, but on the 15-kilometre neutralised section organisers deemed the conditions unsafe, with severe winds battering the riders as they battled to stay together.
After a number of restarts it was decided to call a halt to proceedings, with the contingency plan being seven laps of a 3.5-kilometre loop of Roquetas de Mar, a city in Andalucia.
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It was the first event to be dealt with under the UCI's new extreme weather protocol.
However, many riders complained the process was marked by chaos and uncertainty and, while it worked in the end, they believed the protocol needed more clarity.
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Some of the riders complained that in the most open sections of the course they were struggling to keep their bikes on the road and went back to sit in the cavalcade to get shelter from team vehicles.
Many of the sport's top names lined up for the race which Sam Bennett won two years ago but it was Leigh Howard (IAM Cycling) who galloped to victory after be broke away late on with eventual runner-up Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) and Latvian Alexsejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling)
The race as it unfolded
Runner-up was Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) and though he looked quite pleased with his place on the podium, the girls either side of him look less than comfortable!
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