Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) continued his dream start with his new team when he won today's first race of the Challenge Mallorca, the flat Trofeo Palma. At the end of the short 116km race that was completely controlled by his teammates, the Italian proved his impressive speed when he held off Jens Debusschere (Lotto Belisol) and Dylan Groenewegen (Cycling Team De Rijke) in the final sprint after the latter had raised his arms in celebration.

After several years at the pro continental level, Sacha Modolo could not have wished a better start to his career as a WorldTour rider. Having joined Lampre-Merida during the off-season, the Italian won a stage when he first lined up in his new colours in the Tour de San Luis and today he won his first race on European soil, the Trofeo Palma.

The flat criterium in the biggest Mallorcan city, Palma, is the traditional opener of the Challenge Mallorca that consists of four one-day races on consecutive days. Consisting of 10 laps on an 11.6km completely flat circuit, the race usually ends in a bunch sprint and Modolo was extremely motivated to continue his momentum.

Right from the start he showed his intentions when he asked his teammates to do all the chase work behind the 5-rider escape that dominated most of the race. Despite not getting any help, the Italian team was glad to take the responsibility, having complete confidence in their new sprinter.

That proved to be a wise decision as Modolo paid back their hard work when the race was decided in the expected bunch sprint. The Italian powered clear on the finishing straight along the Palma seafront and held off Jens Debusschere and Dylan Groenewegen in the final sprint. Some confusion arose at the finish as Groenewegen had raised his arms in celebration but the young Dutchman had to settle for the final step on the podium.

Modolo will get a chance to take another win tomorrow when the race series continues the Trofeo Ses Salines. The riders will tackle four category 4 climbs - the final one inside the final 10km but the challenges should not be hard enough to deny the sprinters another shot at glory.

A flat race

As usual, the Trofeo Palma consisted of 10 laps of an 11.6km circuit along the seafront in Mallorca and the race series was again expected to kick off with a big bunch sprint. Most of the teams had lined up their fastest finishers for the speedy race in downtown Palma.

Despite the race being destined to end in a bunch sprint, there was plenty of aggression in the early part of the race and when the riders crossed the line after the first lap, a break still hadn't been established. After the second lap, there was still no group ahead of the bunch as Bjorn Thurau (Europcar) beat Tomasz Mickiewicz (Active Jet) and Federico Butto (Burgos) in the intermediate sprint at the line.

The break is formed

On the third lap, Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp), Pirmin Lang (IAM) and Christoph Pfingsten (Rijke) got a gap but the trio was quickly brought back. Howes, however, refused to give up and was again part of the action when the next group set off.

The American was joined by Ian Boswell (Sky), Alexandre Pichot (Europcar) and perennial attackers Ronan Van Zandbeek (De Rijke) and Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural) to form a 5-rider group that would be the break of the day. At the end of the third lap, they had a slight 15-second gap.

A battle for points

In such a short race, the peloton was reluctant to let things get out of control and so the gap stayed at around 20 seconds for some time. Meanwhile, Van Zandbeek beat Txurruka and Boswell in the first special sprint while he beat Pichot and Howes at the top of the small category 4 climb that offered KOM points twice during the race.

The peloton decided to let the gap become slightly bigger and when Lampre-Merida started to control the race, the escapees were 45 seconds ahead. The Italian team stabilized the advantage and after 75km, it was 50 seconds.

The gap grows again

Lampre-Merida upped the pace and brought the gap down to 21 seconds but quickly sensed that it was too early to make the catch. At the 87km mark, the gap had gone back up to 59 seconds, the biggest advantage of the entire race.

With two laps to go, the deficit was just 32 seconds as Van Zandbeek beat Txurruka and Boswell in the special sprint. Lampre-Merida was now going full gas and with 18km to go, everything was back together.

From there, the peloton was riding at full speed all the way around the final lap on the circuit. The sprint trains jostled for position but Lampre-Merida was always in control. Despite the hard work throughout the race, they managed to position Modolo well for the sprint and the Italian could take a much-deserved victory despite the confusion that arose due to Groenewegen's mistimed celebration.

Result:

1. Sacha Modolo 2.29.12

2. Jens Debusschere

3. Dylan Groenewegen

4. Gianni Meersman

5. Adrien Petit

6. Jon Aberasturi

7. Michael Matthews

8. Andrea Peron

9. Davide Vigano

10. Yoeri Havik

More results to come