It was a Russian who took success on stage one of the Vuelta a Madrid (UCI 2.1), one of the hardest in the Spanish race in recent years, over 200 kilometers with five rateo climbs and an uphill finish in Colmenar Viejo. Evgeny Shalunov (LOK) came across the line alone after spending the whole day on front, crowning his action with a strong attack in the Cerro de San Pedro (Cat-3) against Spaniard Diego Rubio (EFG), his final rival in a 25-man attempt including three of the Movistar Team’s members: John Gadret, Jasha Sütterlin and Fran Ventoso.

Though the Frenchman saved his energis for the steep Puerto de Morcuera (Cat-1), a crash without consecuentes forced him to get into the pursuit, joined by two of his team-mates after the regrouping prior to Canencia: Javi Moreno and Winner Anacona, the latter having worked hard in the beginning with Soler, Dowsett and Sanz. A further selection - Ventoso unsuccessful after his attack with 70km remaining - left the elite group with just eight riders, 1’02” behind Shalunov, with Javi Moreno in 6th.

No time bonuses nor hard climbs in tomorrow’s Madrid circuit (18 laps, 98.8km) mean the GC is all but decided, with Moreno, Gadret, Anacona and Sütterlin within the top 30.