Challenge de Mallorca 2022 (1 Trofeo Calvia) – [Highlights]

January 26, 2021

Challenge de Mallorca 2021 – Trofeo Calvia – Peguera – Palmanova : 154,7 km

The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca (English: Tour of Majorca, Catalan: Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or early February. The event is used as an early season preparatory event by many of the top teams in readiness for the bigger races later in the season. The five races are ranked 1.1 on the UCI Europe Tour.

Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates produced a remarkable solo breakaway to win the Trofeo Calvia, the first of the Challenge Mallorca races, forging clear with some 60km remaining and then fending off a select chasing group all the way to the finish in Palmanova.

The American rolled home some 1:17 clear of the eight chasers, who were led across the line by his teammate Joel Suter, with Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa) beating Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) to final spot on the podium.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was part of that group as he kicked-off his final season as a professional, taking sixth place and somehow winning the prize for the day’s most combative rider despite McNulty’s aggression and his victorious lone raid.

McNulty first went on the offensive on the Coll den Blenda, where his acceleration helped to splinter the peloton, and he persisted in his efforts over the other side, eventually jumping away alone ahead of the Coll den Claret. By the summit, McNulty had 50 seconds in hand on a group of chasers that included Wellens, Valverde, Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Although the pursuers initially managed to shave a handful of seconds off McNulty’s advantage, his ability as a rouleur and their lack of cohesion saw the balance swing back in favour of the lone leader on the undulating run towards the finish.

Once McNulty stretched his lead out to 1:15 with 15km to go, it was already apparent that the chasing group of Valverde, Buchmann, Suter, Wellens, Albanese, Simon Clarke (Israel Premier Tech), Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty) and Lukasz Owsian (Arkea-Samsic) al was fighting for second place in the opening event of the Challenge Mallorca.

Further behind, meanwhile, Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) won the bunch sprint for 10th place, 2:55 down on McNulty.

The win was McNulty’s first since he won the Giro di Sicilia for Team Rally in 2019, though the Arizon had already impressed across his first two seasons at UAE Team Emirates, placing 15th overall at the 2020 Giro d’Italia and riding in support of Tadej Pogačar at last year’s Tour de France.

McNulty is in line to ride in Pogačar’s service again at this year’s Tour, but he will have some opportunities of his own in shorter stage races, beginning with the Volta ao Algarve next month.

How it unfolded

The opening road race of the European season took place in Valencia at the weekend, but the opening day of the Challenge Mallorca marked the first 1.1 category race of the year and the beginning of the campaign for 10 WorldTour squads.

The Trofeo Calvia, with five classified climbs across its 154.7km, is one of the hillier events in the five days of racing in Mallorca and there was no shortage of riders eager to take advantage of that terrain in the opening part of the race.

The first break formed barely 10km after the start in Peguera, when Pablo Alonso (Electro Hiper Europa-Caldas), Mirco Maestri (Eolo-Kometa) and James Piccoli (Israel Premier Tech) forged clear of the peloton. Piccoli led that trio over the Coll des Tords with a buffer of 4:23 over the peloton, and that extended to 7:10 before Movistar and Lotto Soudal instigated the pursuit behind.

Come the summit of the Coll den Claret after 40km, the break’s advantage had dropped inside five minutes, and it began to tumble rapidly thereafter. At the top of the day’s third ascent, the Coll de Sóller, Piccoli, Maestri and Montes retained just a minute of their lead, and they were caught by the peloton with 72km remaining.

By then, the race was already on the Coll den Bleda, where a group of strongmen led by Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) forced its way clear.

McNulty was initially joined by rideders including 18-year-old neo-professional Cian Uijt Den Broeks (Bora-Hansgrohe), Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty) and the dogged Piccoli in that move, but the American clipped away over the other side, and he began the second ascent of the Coll den Claret alone at the head of the race with 40 seconds in hand.

Behind, the peloton had splintered into shards, with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Warren Barguil (Arkea-Samsic), Simon Clarke (Israel Premier Tech), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange), Uijtdebroeks, Piccoli and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) among the prominent names in the group chasing McNulty on the climb.

Such was the intensity of the race that only eight riders remained in the chasing group on the run-in, but despite the presence of Valverde, Buchmann and Wellens, they could make only modest inroads into the advantage of McNulty, who they wouldn’t see again before the finish in Palmanova.

Results :
1 Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates 3:57:37
2 Joel Suter (Swi) Uae Team Emirates 0:01:17
3 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
4 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
5 Simon Clarke (Aus) Israel-Premier Tech
6 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
7 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
8 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Arkea-Samsic
9 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
10 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:54
11 Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:02:55
12 Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
13 Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal
14 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
15 Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
16 Laurens Huys (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
17 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
18 Davide Villella (Ita) Cofidis
19 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
20 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroen Team
21 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
22 Elie Gesbert (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
23 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
24 Adria Moreno Sala (Spa) Burgos-BH
25 Einer Rubio Reyes (Col) Movistar Team
26 James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
27 Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe
28 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Movistar Team
29 Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team 0:02:59
30 Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis
31 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:07:31
32 Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
33 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
34 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
35 Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
36 Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:09:06
37 Mattia Bais (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
38 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
39 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
40 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Drone Hopper – Androni Giocattoli
41 Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
42 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH
43 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
44 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
45 Daan Hoole (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
46 Oier Lazkano Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
47 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
48 Davide Bais (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
49 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
50 Diego Rosa (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
51 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
52 Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:10:43
53 Ruben Apers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:12:10
54 Jordy Bouts (Bel) Beat Cycling
55 Stijn Daemen (Ned) Beat Cycling
56 Barnabás Peák (Hun) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
57 Thibaut Ponsaerts (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
58 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
59 Mateu Estelrich Cabanellas (Spa) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas
60 Jens Schuermans (Bel) Beat Cycling
61 Luis-Joe Lührs (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
62 Marcos Jurado Rodriguez (Spa) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas
63 Thomas Armstrong (GBr) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas
64 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
65 Sander De Pestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
66 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
67 Santiago Umba Lopez (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
68 Cesare Benedetti (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
69 Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
70 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
71 Pablo Alonso Montes (Spa) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas
72 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Arkea-Samsic
73 Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos-BH
74 Pelayo Sanchez Mayo (Spa) Burgos-BH
75 Thomas Joseph (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
76 Asier Etxeberria Zafra (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
77 Sergio Garcia Gonzalez (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
78 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
79 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
80 Omar El Gouzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
81 Igor Arrieta Lizarraga (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
82 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal
83 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
84 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
85 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
86 Julian Mertens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
87 Andres Camilo Ardila Ordoñez (Col) UAE Team Emirates
88 Eddy Fine (Fra) Cofidis
89 Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis
90 Daniel Hoyos Largo (Col) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas
91 Alejandro Ropero Molina (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
92 Sergio Araiz Michel (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
93 Sander Armée (Bel) Cofidis
94 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH
95 Ander Okamika Bengoetxea (Spa) Burgos-BH
96 Valentin Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
97 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
98 Riccardo Lucca (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek
99 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
100 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
101 Michal Schlegel (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
102 Lorenzo Ginestra (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek
103 William Barta (USA) Movistar Team
104 André Domingues (Por) Burgos-BH
105 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
106 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
107 Simon Guglielmi (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
108 Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
109 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
110 Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
111 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
112 Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
113 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
114 Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
115 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
116 Damien Howson (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
117 Matis Louvel (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
118 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
119 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:11:30
120 Jack Bauer (NZl) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:12:10
121 Dion Smith (NZl) BikeExchange-Jayco
122 Felix Gall (Aut) AG2R Citroen Team
123 Harry Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal
124 Miguel Angel Ballesteros Canovas (Spa) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas 0:17:30
125 Thimo Willems (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
126 Robbe Van Praet (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
127 Sven Burger (Ned) Beat Cycling
128 Joan Marti Bennassar Rossello (Spa) Manuela Fundacion
129 Alex Edmondson (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
130 Milan Fretin (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
131 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Manuela Fundacion
132 Gilles Borra (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
133 Jorre Debaele (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
134 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
135 Francesco Zandri (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek
136 Kamil Malecki (Pol) Lotto Soudal
137 Andreas Miltiadis (Cyp) Java Kiwi Atlantico
138 Alex Jaime Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
139 Tuur Dens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Taj Jones (Aus) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Lotto Soudal
DNF Sam Bewley (NZl) BikeExchange-Jayco
DNF Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Alexander Kamp (Den) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Jules Hesters (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
DNF Jente Boons (Bel) Beat Cycling
DNF Jochem Kerckhaert (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Bram Dissel (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Matthew Van Schoor (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
DNF Xavier Cañellas Sanchez (Spa) Java Kiwi Atlantico
DNF Gaizka Gurrutxaga Etxeberria (Spa) Java Kiwi Atlantico
DNF Edwin Yair Torres (Ven) Java Kiwi Atlantico
DNF Tomoya Koyama (Jpn) Java Kiwi Atlantico
DNF Alessio Gasparini (Ita) Java Kiwi Atlantico
DNF Yuki Ishihara (Jpn) Java Kiwi Atlantico
DNF Juan Diego Hoyos Cano (Col) Electro Hiper Europa – Caldas
DNF Francisco Jose Casaus Medina (Spa) Manuela Fundacion
DNF Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Santiago Mesa Pietralunga (Col) Manuela Fundacion
DNF Giovanni Bortoluzzi (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek
DNF Federico Burchio (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek
DNF Christian Danilo Pase (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek
DNF Eric Paties Montagner (Ita) Work Service – Vitalcare – Dynatek