The Italian Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) prevailed at the start of the Challenge Mallorca in a mass sprint in front of the cathedral in Palma. Second was the Belgian Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol) ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (Cyclingteam de Rijke).
After the race, there was initially some confusion. Groenewegen had cheered just like Modolo when the goal was passed, but the photo decided in favor of the Italian.
The Trofeo Palma also heralded the start of the season in Spain this year and attracted numerous well-known drivers. The most popular among them is Bradley Wiggins (Sky), but Linus Gerdemann also made his European debut for Team MTN-Qhubeka.
The race was initially dominated by a leading group with Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp), Ian Boswell (Sky), Alexandre Pichot (Europcar), Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural) and Ronan Van Zandbeek (Cyclingteam de Rijke). The five managed to carve out a maximum lead of a minute while Team Lampre-Merida controlled the pace in the field. Together with the Orica-GreenEdge and Sky teams, they caught up the escapees with almost 20 kilometers to go before the end of the race.
Result
1. Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) 2:29:12
2. Jens Debusschere (Lotto Belisol) 0:00:00
3. Dylan Groenewegen (Cycling Team de Rijke) 0:00:00
4. Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:00
5. Adrien Petit (Cofidis) 0:00:00