In the competition that pays tribute to the five-time Tour de France champion Miguel Induráin, the American Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) won the 33rd edition of the race in Navarre, in a 198.1 kilometer course that went through the surroundings of the town of Estella.
The places of honor in the Spanish race were completed by Belgian Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) and British rider Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), who finished second and third, respectively. While Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), last year’s champion, had to settle for fourth place.
As for the Latin Americans, the best was the Mexican Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) in 13th place, followed by the Colombian Esteban Chaves (EF Education – EasyPost) in 29th place, the Ecuadorian Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (EF Education – EasyPost) in 37th place, Rigoberto Urán (EF Education – EasyPost) in 40th, Argentine Eduardo Sepúlveda (Lotto Dstny) 51st, Ecuadorian Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) 64th and Guatemalan Sergio Geovani Chumil (Burgos – BH) 104th.
The breakaway of the day was led by Norwegian Julius Johansen (Sabgal / Anicolor), German Louis Leidert (Lidl – Trek Future Racing), Dutch Jetse Bol (Burgos – BH), and Spaniards Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel – Euskadi), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36. 5 Pro Cycling Team), Javier Serrano (Team Polti Kometa), José María García (Illes Balears Arabay Cycling), however, with 31 kilometers to go the peloton neutralized them all.
The race took a different turn on the Alto de Lezaun (3.9km at 5.4%), the demanding second category climb, which ended up selecting the main group and where Team dsm-firmenich PostNL set the pace.
With less than twenty kilometers to the finish and with the escapees captured, several riders tried to escape from the rigorous control of the bunch. Ecuador’s Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (EF Education – EasyPost) was one of them, who tried with nine other men.
In a very challenging and also very treacherous finish due to the rain, the big favorites came to the fore, including Brandon McNulty. The UAE Team Emirates American saw his moment and attacked in the last ten kilometers and pulled away from the early chasers quickly.
Then Maxim Van Gils accelerated and caught the American. On the steeper sections, the Belgian even overtook McNulty, who struggled to stay close. On the wet and dangerous downhill he got back on Van Gils’ wheel.
The Belgian then decided to keep his strength for the sprint, but McNulty turned out to have the faster legs after nearly five hours of racing. The 25-year-old was the first to attack and raced to his fourth win of 2024 seemingly with ease. Van Gils had to settle for second place, Oscar Onley finished third in the day’s results.
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico