Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2024 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

February 10, 2024

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2024 🇪🇸 – Stage 1 – Benicássim – Castellón : 167 km

The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which takes place from 31 January 31 to 4 February, is the first big European stage race of the season, and often the debut race for many climbers and GC riders in the peloton. Based around the Valencia region in Spain, the race is hilly and punchy, and offers riders the chance to test their legs ahead of the bigger stage racing goals of the season. The course only has one uphill finish, but there’s plenty of climbing across the five stages, as well as chances for the punchier riders, in what should be an interesting curtain-raiser on the Costa Blanca.

Alessandro Tonelli (VF Group-Bardiani-Faizanè) won the opening stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in Castellón, crossing the line ahead of teammate Manuele Tarozzi after attacking out of the day’s breakaway.

The duo survived a slapstick moment where they went off course at a roundabout, coming back together to ride to the line side by side.

Oier Lazkano (Movistar) emerged from a late chase to take third over Alex Molenaar (ILes Balears Arabay) one minute behind, just before Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) led the peloton to the line.

The peloton mistimed their chase and could not close a nearly two-minute gap the Bardiani pair held after the category 2 Desert de las Palmes inside 20km to go. Despite a furtive effort from Bahrain Victorious, the two held off the chase to seize the lead in the overall classification.

HOW IT UNFOLDED
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana opened in Benicàssim under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures, with riders free from the layers of winter training.

Francisco Muñoz (Polti Kometa) was the first rider to attack. but was quickly caught. It took almost 20km before a breakaway could be established, and Muñoz was again in the move.

The day’s breakaway included Gorka Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Iñigo Elosegui (Kern Pharma), Jetse Bol (B&B Hotels), Tarozzi and Tonelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Francisco Muñoz (Polti Kometa) and Alex Molenaar (Illes Balears Arabay).

The peloton was content to let the group get a big gap, stretching over nine minutes halfway through the stage before an undulating descent swung the balance in favour of the chase.

Jayco-AlUla led the chase for Michael Matthews, but when the breakaway hit a series of short, sharp climbs with 30km to go, their gap tumbled quickly.

As the road tilted up, UAE Team Emirates accelerated and halved the breakaway’s gap.

With 25km to go, the VF Group-Bardiani duo attacked the breakaway and opened a decent gap, and in the peloton behind, Movistar came forward with Bora-Hansgrohe to lead the chase ahead of the category 2 climb to Desert de las Palmes, a 7.7km climb averaging 5.1%.

As Tonelli and Tarozzi forged on, Muñoz was the first to be dropped and was joined by Sorarrain as UAE came back to the front to eliminate the three-minute gap to the leaders, alternating with Bahrain Victorious.

The duo still had more than two minutes in hand as they started the quick descent into Castellón – had the peloton miscalculated?

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) hit out off the front of the bunch in his signature rocket-like descending style just as Muñoz came back and opened a big gap behind him by taking a terrible line into a bend.

However, with 5km to go, Mohorič hadn’t made meaningful inroads and it looked like a Bardiani 1-2 would be inevitable. A moment of stress when they were briefly led off course forgotten, the pair could celebrate their achievement and relish the lead in the overall classification.

Results :