Cycling: Thomas De Gendt (Lotto – Soudal) once again lived up to his reputation as the king of the breakaway. The Belgian confidently won the start of the Tour of Catalonia as a soloist. The 32-year-old takes the lead in (almost) all classifications. Thomas De Gendt is now also the favorite in the fight for overall victory.
Tour of Catalonia: Traditional start in Calella
Since 2012, the Tour of Catalonia has started and finished in Calella. On the 160-kilometer section, the pros had to climb more than 3.000 meters in altitude today. However, the stage should be too easy for the excellent climbers. Due to the less difficult last few kilometers, a sprinter has almost always won in recent years. last was Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) successful. However, the Colombian couldn't repeat his coup this year. Up to the Alt el Muntanya he lost the connection. The team from André Greipel (Arkéa – Samsic) pushed the pace to shake off the competitor. There were six escapees to chase, including thomas degendt (Lotto – Soudal). The experienced Belgian conquered the mountain jersey today and broke away from his companions on the penultimate mountain.
Thomas De Gendt puts himself in an excellent position
Although in the main draw several teams against thomas degendt tried to resist, the Belgian could not be caught. Second place was secured 2:38 minutes later Maximilian schachmann (Bora – hansgrohe), a few seconds ahead of the peloton. With this, Thomas De Gendt skims off all available leader jerseys. The 32-year-old is just a bit too old for the shirt of the youngster. In the coming days, the Tour of Catalonia will not be any easier. The generally wavy profile suits hill and mountain specialists. The preliminary decision in the overall standings will probably be made on Wednesday and Thursday with two mountain finishes. The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya ends on Sunday in Barcelona. With his current lead, Thomas De Gendt can even hope to play an important role in the fight for overall victory.
🇧🇪@DeGendtThomas of 🇧🇪@Lotto_Soudal wins stage 1 of 🇪🇸@VoltaCatalunya #VoltaCatalunya (📺@marcaclaro / @pasiociclismo) pic.twitter.com/JDdGYmLjLA
- World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) March 25, 2019
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