british cyclist Ben Turnerof the group Ineos Grenadierstook the victory in the 43rd edition of the Cycling Tour of the Region of Murcia Costa Cálida-Gran Premio Primafríowhich was played this Saturday between San Javier and Cartagena.
The young cyclist from the English town of Doncaster, 23 years old and 1.94 meters tall, won the finish line at Parque Torres, in Cartagena, by beating Australian Simon Clarke in an uphill sprint.
Turner, a professional since 2017, stood his ground and bided his time to win after 4 hours, 25 minutes and 8 seconds, rolling at a speed of 41 kilometers per hour.
Behind him were Clarke, from Israel Premier Tech, second; and Belgian Jordi Meeus, from Bora Hansgrohe, who finished in third position.
In fourth and fifth place are French Valentin Madouas, from Groupama FDJ; and the Italian Matteo Trentin, from UAE Team Emirates, at the close finish.
Rain and wind conditioned the day and changed the test route, which, for safety reasons for the participants, was shortened -it went from 194.7 to 183.5 kilometers- and the ascent of the Collado Bermejo-Cima prevented the Marco Pantani, a special category passed through the middle of the Sierra Espuña, which was the main mountain level of the day. On the contrary, they did climb the hill of Cola del Caballo, third grade, in the municipality of Librilla.
The race, which started a bit later than expected, finally had 146 runners from 21 teams start at Parque Almansa in San Javier and, as is often the case, there was a long breakaway, led by five runners whose quest reached an advantage of almost four minutes over the peloton
Iván Romeo from Valladolid, from the Movisar Team; Australian Harry Sweeny, from Lotto Dstny; French Paul Ourselin, from TotalEnergies; and Mateu Estelrich from Mallorca and José María García from Murcia, both from Electro Híper Europa, went ahead bravely.
Estelrich and García were the first to disconnect and the other three remained in the lead until they passed the third category Cedadero peak, located 17 kilometers from the finish line.
There Sweeny crowned first place, as did Rubén Fernández from Murcia, from Cofidis, then, at the top of the Cresta del Gallo, also third; and Estellrich, in the Horse’s tail.
As UAE and Ineos pulled hard from behind, the leak was deemed neutralized with 13.2 kilometers to go. From that moment on, the dallians followed each other, though not giving the impression that any of them would progress.
Round and round at a furious pace, the main group marched in the lead, although pieces were gradually losing, also due to some falls, and its members took their positions to lead the climb to Parque Torres, a one kilometer climb with an average slope of 6% and ramps of up to 15%.
There the strongest is Bent Turner, who replaced the Italian Alessandro Covi, from the UAE, in the Murcian round.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
