Vuelta a Castilla y Leon: Ventoso quickest into Palencia, Sky misses out

Spanish sprinter Fran Ventoso picked up his third win of the season when he won a mass bunch gallop at the end of day one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.

The 28-year-old beat Italian Manuel Belletti (Colnago), the young Slovenian Marko Kumps (Geox TMC) plus 88 others to the line in Palencia. Sky Procycling worked hard to try to position Russell Downing for the win, but appeared to start the leadout slightly early, with the pace dropping coming into the final 300 metres.

That enabled the other riders to come around him, and the Briton was unable to get back on terms. Ventoso’s success marked victory number seven for Team Movistar this year.

He’s won at the race several times before, and he considers it lucky for him. “You can say that Castilla y Leon is my career talisman. With this I have already five stage victories [in the race],” he said after being presented with the first leader’s jersey.

“In the beginning we were going to do Roubaix, but Eusebio Unzue decided to change my schedule at the last minute for Amorebieta and Castile. It seems he has a magic wand, because he was completely right. Amorebieta was perhaps a little hard for me and there were comrades who came out of Pais Vasco better, but it was good for me in finding my level.”

The 174.4 kilometre stage started in Medina de Rioseco and was mainly flat. Raúl Alarcón (Barbot), Javier Ramirez Abeja (Andalucía), Noel Martin (Orbea), Pascual Orengo, Carlos Verona (Burgos 2016), Jaime Castañeda (UNE-EPM) and Ruben Martinez (Caja Rural) went clear early on and were able to open a lead of twelve minutes over the bunch. However they were hauled back with ten kilometres to go

Ventoso praised the work of his squad afterwards. “Today the team has returned to being sensational. We had talked at the meeting to try to cause a selection in the group on the last slope. During the race, Pablo Lastras, who is our road captain, made the climb hard has made the tough climb to try to put Rabobank far behind and to make it impossible for them to get ahead. Tondo then continued it on and we reached our goal.

“In the finishing straight, the sprint was a little long because it was into a headwind. The Sky sprinter [Downing] had to launch the sprint too early because he was without team-mates and I was forced to go from far out. Now we can enjoy this success, which goes to my colleagues as they were really perfect, and I think about tomorrow. I won in Salamanca in 2007, it is a finish that bites a little and which suits me well. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be in contention again.”

General classification favourite Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank SunGard) finished 15th in the sprint, staying out of trouble on the opening stage of a race he will try to win.

Tomorrow’s second leg runs 213 kilometres from Valladolid to Salamanca.