While the climbers had their say in Saturday’s Vuelta a Murcia today the Clásica de Almería tailored to the fast men.

With the addition of Fabio Silvestre to Trek Factory Racing’s lineup (replacing Bauke Mollema, second yesterday) the team was motivated to play in the expected sprint ending today.

Hayden Roulston, Eugenio Alafaci and Fabio Felline led Silvestre in the finale, the sprint imminent until a late crash inside the last few kilometers derailed the pinstriped train and dashed its hopes. 

“We had a lap of 10k at the end, and our goal was to wait until the final 4k and then take Silvestre to the front with Roulston, Alafaci and Felline,” explained Trek Factory Racing’s sport director Josu Larrazabal. “But then at 2k to go there was a crash and Hayden and Felline were stopped by the crash, thankfully they did not go down, but of course Fabio Silvestre was behind them. He was delayed enough that he no longer could get back in for the sprint.”

The 186-kilometer race started and finished in the city of Almería, and a series of shorts climbs in its mid-section proved the only barrier to the sprinters.

An early five-man breakaway stood little chance to pull off a surprise ending with several big teams eying a sprint finale, and with 40 kilometers still to play the escapes were swallowed.

“It was clear today would be a sprint with the teams like Etixx-Quick Step, Movistar and Katusha working towards that,” continued Larrazabal, “so we did not even try to go into a breakaway. Our goal from the beginning was to do the sprint with Silvestre.”

The crucial moment of the race occurred well before the escapees were reeled in as a long, wind-swept downhill split the bunch, forming a large front group of around 50 riders.

Larrazabal: “After the last climb with 70k to go there was a tricky downhill, and we knew this, so our first goal was to be in the front and avoid the split in the peloton. The team was very good there, the peloton split into three groups and we had five in the first group.  After that, it was a headwind to the line, so the peloton stayed together.”

With the powerhouse teams of Etixx-QuickStep and Movistar sharing the day's general blueprint of mass sprint, all unfolded to plan and the peloton rushed towards the finish.

Trek Factory Racing waited for their moment, leading Silvestre into position when the late crash split the peloton with many, including Silvestre, on the wrong side of the melee. 

Mark Cavendish easily sprinted to victory, winning by a bike length ahead of Movistar’s Juan José Lobato. Mark Renshaw (Etixx-Quick Step) rounded out the podium.

Eugenio Alafaci was the highest finisher for the team in 24th.  Fabio Silvestre finished at the tail end of the first group just ahead of the crash-caused split, a frustrating 37th place.

“It’s a pity and we are really, really disappointed because Silvestre was feeling good today. He has started the season stronger than last year and he was ready and motivated to sprint,” said a disheartened Larrazabal. “The good thing is that we are safe, and we did not lose anybody to crashes today.

“But what I saw today I can say that I am quite happy with the attitude of the team. Everyone was dedicated to Silvestre; it’s a shame that we were stopped by a crash.”