Alejandro Valverde has taken his first win since 2019 after attacking solo very impressively in the closing stages of GP Miguel Indurain (1.Pro) in Spain today.
The veteran Movistar rider, now aged 40 years and having
last taken a win in 2019 on La Vuelta, was far too strong for the other
favourites on the short sharp climbs in the final 30 minutes of racing today.
Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar had initially looked strong as the
race entered its last hour. But he lacked a little in the decisive final
10-15km when what remained of the peloton was ripped apart on the short steep
climbs and the breakaway also disintegrated.
Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) was 2nd, some six
seconds down on Valverde, with Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), who had been in the
four-man breakaway, hung on for 3rd some 15 seconds down and just a
couple of lengths ahead of a chase group.
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Dunbar got tailed off inside the final 10km of racing as Valverde animated the action and the remains of the peloton exploded after a fantastic final 50km of racing to the 203.2km event. Irishman Dunbar eventually finished in 48th place, in a group 4:50 down.
With 46km to, after Movistar had done much of the riding, an 18-rider group went clear over the top of the Alto de Lezaun, with Eddie Dunbar playing it perfectly and being the last rider to join the back of the group before the gap began to open back to the peloton.
Just a couple of kilometres up the road, with the gap between front group and bunch at only about 10 seconds, Dunbar and his Ineos Grenadiers team mate Ben Swift began to hit the front in a bid to help drive the lead group along.
Just after the Irishman pulled over having completed his turn on the front, Swift and Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) rolled off the front and once they saw they had a gap they committed.
With just over 40km to go they were joined by Ben Hermans (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), making for a strong four-man group away off the front.
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The group Dunbar was in was then absorbed by what was
left of the peloton, which still numbered about 60 to 70 riders at that point.
However, while the four escapees pressed hard ahead,
Movistar were riding on the front of the peloton and with 30km to go the four
leaders had only managed to extend their advantage to 40 seconds.
On the front of the bunch,
Movistar was down to its last one or two riders and while Bahrain Victorious
also committed men to the chase, the momentum appeared to be with the four up
the road.
Dunbar was sitting about 6th
in the bunch and looking very comfortable as his team mate Andrey Amador was
going out the back of the peloton with just under 25km to go.
With 14km to go, when the
breakaway hit the 4km climb of Alto de Eraul, their
advantage began to fall and the outcome of the race looked wide open again,
with Cepeda dropped from the breakaway.
Close to the top of the climb, Swift began swinging off
the back of the breakaway, which prompted Sanchez to attack; the Spanish
national champion riding away solo on the climb with 11km to go and with the
reduced peloton at just 17 seconds.
Inside the last kilometre of the climb, as Swift was caught by the bunch, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) attacked but couldn’t initially get clear. However, when he went a second time at the top of the climb his effort was of a much higher intensity. He pulled clear solo and caught Sanchez.
The first time check showed a 10-second gap back to the
bunch, with Dunbar fading a little and sitting close to the back of what was
left of the peloton, leaving Laurens De Plus as the sole Ineos Grenadiers rider
trying to get clear after the two leaders.
The final small climbs saw a 10-rider group form in
pursuit of Sanchez and Valverde as the remains of the bunch exploded, with
Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) getting across to the two leaders with 6km to go.
However, Lutsenko went out the back again immediately when Valverde pushed on once more, though the Astana rider then caught the two leaders on a small descent.
But on the final ramp with 2km to go, and the chase group just seconds behind the three leaders, Valverde attacked hard and this time he was clear on his own and rode to victory.
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