Cycling: Michael Matthews (Sunweb) won the start of the 57th Tour of the Basque Country. In the mass sprint, the Australian relegated Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) and Simon Gerrans (Orica-Scott) to second place. That meant an Australian triple success and a double victory for the German teams. Michael Matthews will start tomorrow's second stage in the leader's yellow jersey.
No tension until the finish - Alaphilippe unlucky
On the 153-kilometer section from Iruña-Pamplona to Sarriguren-Eguesibar, there wasn't really much excitement today. The three-man lead group, consisting of Igor Anton (Dimension Data), Luis Mas Bonet (Caja Rural) and Yoann Bagot (Cofidis), was only missed for around four minutes. Bagot secured the mountains leader's polka dot jersey in a tough battle with Anton, who was caught early on. About 20 kilometers from the finish, the other two escapees gave up the hopeless endeavor. It only got interesting four kilometers from the finish line when Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) launched an attack. He put a few meters between himself and the peloton, but then suffered a defect in the rear wheel. An attack in the last two kilometers by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) also failed. In the final sprint, Michael Matthews then had no trouble winning his third stage at a Tour of the Basque Country.
Many stars are at the start of the Tour of the Basque Country
The Tour of the Basque Country has been a top-attended event for years. Between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the hill specialists fight for victories on six stages. This season, the defending champions Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r) should be mentioned by name. Since the sprinters have few chances of winning a stage, there are hardly any top-fast people at the start. Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) would have been someone for the German team, but due to bronchitis he had to pull out at short notice. Emanuel Buchmann and Patrick Konrad should ensure a good result for the team in the overall standings. So far there has been a German overall winner twice in the Tour of the Basque Country. Andreas Klöden won the tour through the hilly terrain in 2000 and 2011.
Result of the 1st stage of the Tour of the Basque Country 2017