Sergio Pardilla (Caja Rural) claimed one of the biggest victories of his career when he benefited from the tactical battle between the favourites to build a big advantage in the queen stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. While the Spaniard soloed to victory, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) launched a big attack to take second place which was enough to win the race overall with a tiny 1-second advantage over Ben Hermans (BMC) and Pardilla.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Alberto Contador: This was a victory that I missed on my palmares

After four hard days of racing, it was all going to come down to the final stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. With forty seconds separating the top fifty GC riders, anyone could take the win on the toughest day of the race. Going into the day in 25th spot, Alberto Contador was looking confident and strong on the final ascent of the day, before a late attack from earnt the Spanish Tinkoff leader second position on the stage, taking the GC win by a second.

 

The team’s Technical Coordinator, Ivan Basso, saw how hard the guys worked throughout the stage, making sure the outcome went in their favour.

 

“We had a really hard start today - our strategy was to put the race in our way. Every big group that went, we pulled. This meant we had to work hard. At the end the guys looked after Alberto, and Trofimov was there at the end. He did a great job at the end pulling to catch the break and finally Alberto did a great ride.”

 

The breakaway riders were unable to maintain their efforts and gradually dropped back to the peloton, where Alberto Contador was to be found keeping safe before the final push on the second ascent of the climb to the finish. With it all back together, it was all going to come down to these final few kilometres, and with a little more than 5km to go, the attacks came. Countering these attacks with confidence and strength in his trademark pedalling style, Contador showed how his recovery has continued over the five days of the race.

 

In the final 2km, with Pardilla up the road, Contador attacked, taking Hermans with him. Coming into the final kilometre of the race, Contador went again, the Spanish rider showing strength, style and confidence as the finish line approached. Crossing the line in second, it was an anxious wait for the confirmation of the GC race, with it all coming down to Contador, Hermans and Pardilla. The results in, Contador was confirmed as the race’s winner by one second – an amazing comeback from the injuries he’d sustained at the Tour de France.

Going into the final day with such a close GC group, Contador knew he would have to make a calculated, well thought-out move.

 

"It was an extremely close race and I knew the last kilometre would be very tough and complicated. I had to approach it in a cold-blooded way. I was very surprised when I saw the BMC rider initiate a very strong attack. Initially, I thought it was Samuel Sanchez but then I realized it wasn't him. I started calculating his time in the GC. I knew he was at 30 seconds and I was aware the final result would be very close. When I crossed the finish line, I looked back and saw 18 seconds on the board. I realized I must have crossed at 17. I won by a mere second and I'm very satisfied."

 

The Vuelta a Burgos being the Tinkoff leader’s first stage race after the Tour de France, Basso was pleased to see the Spanish rider perform so well in the race.

 

“Our pre-race plan was respected – we wanted to go day-by-day and we finished on top, so it's the best way to finish the week. I think we saw today how well Alberto has come back from injury. He was out of training for many days and yet he arrived here in good shape. Yesterday we saw in the crosswinds he was there and today he did a perfect job. He couldn't win the stage but the GC is a great result.”

 

Having only raced in a one-day race before the Vuelta a Burgos, Contador was unsure of how his form would be in a stage race situation.

 

“I wasn’t able to train much before coming here because I had to recover after the Tour. In the first four stages we were able to take it calm and I knew in the final stage we could have options. In the end, we did it, and I’m very happy”

 

The race having previously been absent from his list of victories, Contador had unfinished business here, having crashed in the race earlier in his career.

 

"It was a victory missing from my palmares and I was looking forward to it. I also see it as a victory that compensates in a certain way the crash that I suffered here in 2006. When I told my family that I would race here to prepare the Vuelta they didn't like it."

The outcome of the race was once again an example of the Tinkoff team’s strong teamwork – both for the riders and for the management – as they prepare for their next big race, Basso explained.

 

“We are happy as we go towards the Vuelta with confidence. What Alberto’s done here is big. Once again thanks to all the boys and the staff - my second race as first Sport Director, and another great result. Thanks to Jan Valach and also to the support of Steven De Jongh and Sean Yates.”

 

Contador, as well, was full of praise at the level of support he had received.

 

"I'd like to thank the spectators and fans from the bottom of my heart. My teammates and myself were greatly surprised by the warm welcome we received here. It was a wonderful feeling"

 

With the next race in his calendar being the Vuelta a España, Contador was now looking to work on his form and final recovery before the race.

 

“This race was undoubtedly a positive test heading to the Vuelta. With regard to my form, I’m gradually improving. I am still racing with my heart beating fast but this is a sign I am fresh. We now have to fine-tune my preparation before the Vuelta.

 

"Little by little I am improving. I am putting the finishing touches on my form for La Vuelta. In this regard, from the first stage, I knew I could have a chance for the final victory, but I had to go slowly to find my sensations. I thought I could maybe have options on the last day and decided to take it day by day to see how the legs would respond.”

 

Sergio Pardilla: This makes up for all my sacrifices after my big crash

Caja Rural - Seguros RGA had a fantastic end to this year’s Vuelta a Burgos asSergio Pardilla won the final stage of the Spanish race. Saturday’s stage was also the queen stage of the race with the mountain top finish on the HC-climb Lagunas de Neila.
 
Pardilla put in his lethal attack with 4 km left to go and never looked back. Despite a hard chase behind him, the 32-year-old Spaniard only increased his lead on the following kilometers. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) tried to close the gap with a late attack but nobody could catch Pardilla today. He soloed to win the stage and finish third in the general classification, just one second behind Contador who took the overall win.
 
Last year, Pardilla had a horrible crash in Vuelta al País Vasco (Spain), which nearly ended his career. However, the Spanish climber never stopped believing he would come back to competition and he worked extremely hard to make it happen. Today’s third place overall in Vuelta a Burgos is the third time Pardilla makes podium in a stage race this season. In May, he finished second in Vuelta Asturias (Spain) and a few weeks later, he was second again in Grande Prémio Internacional Beiras (Portugal).
 
Sergio Pardilla said: 

 

“After all the suffering I went through after my crash last year and the long recovery process, this victory makes it all worth it. I knew the last kilometer was the steepest one, but I had good reference times from the team car. At the end, I was only one second from winning overall but I did my best and I’m still very happy with how things went today. To me, Vuelta a Burgos is a very special race and to win the queen stage in front of Alberto Contador only magnifies the victory. This really gives us a big moral boost ahead of the up-coming Vuelta a España”.

 

"It was so close in the end. Yesterday I lost the chance of winning after losing 20 seconds at the finish, but perhaps those 20 seconds are those who have helped me to go alone and win the stage.”

 

Impressive Ben Hermans: I thought that Contador would fly away from me

Ben Hermans showed off his climbing legs on the queen stage of Vuelta a Burgos to battle it to the line to take third place, and move into second place on the General Classification.

 

After three sprint stages and a Team Time Trial, the General Classification came down to the tough mountainous stage with seven category climbs, which sees Hermans secure his best stage race result for the season.

 

Six riders eventually formed the breakaway of the day and were eventually reeled in within the last 20 kilometers of racing. The summit finish of Lagunas de Neila set the scene for the final battle with stage winner Sergio Pardilla (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) launching a solo attack, and Hermans and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) leading the chase.

 

Hermans and Contador went head to head in the final kilometer, with Contador edging clear from Hermans in the final 300 meters.

 

BMC Racing Team concludes a successful first time racing at Vuelta a Burgos with four top three stage results, Jempy Drucker second on the Points Classification, and Hermans’ second place overall.

 

Ben Hermans said:

 

“I was just waiting until the last 1.5km to go because it was there that the road kicked up to more than 10 percent. I was sitting pretty easy in the wheels but then Pardilla attacked and nobody responded so he took 40 or 50 seconds quite quickly. I actually wanted a really hard introduction to that last 1.5km but everybody could recover a bit so it was really explosive when we hit the steep climb. I attacked straight from the bottom with 1.5km to go and only Contador could follow, but he didn’t pull. Then at 500 meters to go he attacked and gained four or five seconds on me. I thought he would fly away from me but he stayed there and then I realized that I was in contention for the GC, so I gave it everything I had.

 

“I can go into the Vuelta a Espana confident. It’s always better to have a win rather than looking forward to a win but I make out of it and we’ll see what happens.”

 

Sports director Max Sciandri added:

 

“It’s a good result for Ben Hermans and for the team. It was more or less the plan going into today to have Ben as our main option for the climbs. We had the guys on the look-out for the breakaway but in the end it went at 60 or 70km and mostly with small teams, so we didn’t jump in it. We knew that it would come down to the last lap and that it would be a tempo ride. It was a hard pace so it cleaned the group out and we had Ben and Samuel Sanchez in there. Ben knew he had the legs and could hang on, whereas Samuel had already said that he felt good but wasn’t at 100% form as he is building up for the Vuelta a Espana.

 

“It was our first time racing at Vuelta a Burgos and we are leaving fairly happy with our results. We were up there in every stage and it was a good way of getting some much-needed race days in the legs for a lot of the guys who are going for Vuelta a Espana selection. There’s no such thing as an easy race and today’s stage was definitely a good indication of where everyone is at in terms of form.”

 

Simon Yates narrowly misses out on the podium in Burgos

Simon Yates produced another impressive performance for ORICA-BikeExchange on stage five of the Vuelta a Burgos today, finishing in fourth place on the stage and securing fourth overall on a tightly contested general classification.

 

The 23-year-old Briton competed strongly over seven categorised climbs before following the final attack by race winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) on the Hors category summit finish in Lagunas de Neila.

 

The result caps off a solid week of racing for ORICA-BikeExchange in Spain and bodes well for the upcoming Vuelta a Espana.

 

Sport director Dave McPartland was pleased with the result and the positive attitude within the team.

 

“Our goal for the race was to try and achieve a good result on the general classification and I’m pleased that we managed to realise that,” said McPartland. “The whole team have supported Simon (Yates) really well throughout the last five days, especially on today’s tough stage.

 

“It’s a great result against a predominantly world class field and we were only off the overall podium by a few seconds.

 

“Simon wasn’t feeling super today yet he still gave it everything he had and we are all more than satisfied with the team’s performance. There were some very strong attacks on the final climb and Simon’s attitude and work ethic was of the highest level.

 

“We can take a lot of positives out of this race and hopefully carry our good form and work into the upcoming Vuelta a Espana.”

 

Slovenian lead out specialist Luka Mezgec came close in the sprints with two top ten finishes on stages one and three and also showed his ability to get over the tough climbs that featured throughout the final two days.

 

Spanish climber Amets Txurruka animated the breakaway on stage four and provided excellent support for Yates alongside Australian Damien Howson.

 

Strongmen Christian Meier and Mitch Docker rode consistently over the five-day race while OBE debutants Carlos Verona and Nick Schultz impressed on their first outing for the team.

 

Peter Kennaugh returns to form with top 10 in Burgos

Pete Kennaugh continued his return to form with a strong performance on the deciding queen stage at the Vuelta a Burgos, securing fifth place overall.

 

The Manxman found himself in elite company in the closing stages and climbed to sixth on the tough Lagunas de Neila summit finish. The race produced a grandstand finish, with a tight battle for the general classification swinging the way of Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) by just a single second.

 

For Kennaugh the result continued his progress since suffering a broken collarbone in May, eventually finishing just 11 seconds back on GC to cap a successful week for the team.

 

Team Sky again displayed an impressive united front across a 163km test containing no fewer than seven categorised climbs.

 

Hitting the front en masse to set the pace first time up the Alto del Collado - Christian Knees took it up early, before David Lopez did the same on the second pass as the race continued to fracture. Ian Boswell shepherded Kennaugh into position as the day's break was caught and sparks flew on the summit finish.

 

With the GC men doing battle for the stage it allowed Danny van Poppel to wrap up overall victory in the points classification. The Dutchman has enjoyed a strong week in Spain with two stage wins and a day in the purple leader's jersey.

 

Important confidence boost for Igor Anton in Burgos queen stage

The 5th stage of the Vuelta a Burgos, deemed the Queen stage with 7 categorised climbs, saw another fine performance from Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka. Starting in Caleruega, there were a number of early attacks but it took quite some time before 7 riders managed to put some daylight between themselves and the peloton. Omar Fraile was their man represented in the move.

 

After teammate Jacques Janse van Rensburg pulled on the King of the Mountains jersey yesterday, Fraile take it upon himself to challenge for the points at the top of each of today’s Mountain sprints. The Basque rider showed his form is heading in the right direction just ahead of the Vuelta a Espana as he took most of the points on offer today. On the 3rd last climb of the day, Fraile attacked his breakaway mates as the peloton had them within sight. He was joined by three new riders from the peloton and the gap slowly started to increase again.

 

Fraile took maximum points at the top of the category 1 climb with 30km to go, before eventually surrendering to the Team Sky led peloton. With just the final 2 climbs to go, the race was brought all back together by a peloton that contained no more than 50 riders. The African Team had Igor Anton and Merhawi Kudus still present.

 

Movistar kept things in check until the final climb started with 7km to go. An attack by Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-Quickstep) on the lower slopes blew the race to pieces and just 8 riders remained at the head of proceedings, Igor Anton included.

 

Anton went on to cross the line in 5th place for the African Team. In the overall standings, Anton’s strong ride saw him jump up to finish in 9th position overall with Contador topping the standings. Fraile had accumulated enough points during the stage to ensure he won the King of the Mountains competition overall.

 

Igor Anton said:
 

“I think it was my 8th time racing this difficult final stage. For me, it is always an important test before the Vuelta. The team were great today, looking after me all stage and helping me to conserve my energy for the finale. I am grateful for the work they did for me and it gives me great confidence to go to the Vuelta a Espana with such strong guys. Pardilla and Contador were going really fast on the last climb but I didn’t finish all that far off them. I put in a good effort today and got a result I am happy with.”

 

Sports director Alex Sans Vega added:
 

“We knew it would be really difficult to get in the break today, it took 60km until the break finally went ahead. Omar was there for us and the goal was to try and win the mountain classification. He got some good points before the race reached the final climb which allowed him to win the jersey. Our 2 guys for the final were Merhawi and Igor. They were able to stay with the favourites until the final and Igor went on to get 5th on the stage and also a top 10 on GC, which is a good result. Merhawi was a bit further back but he finished 2nd in the U23 category which was also good. In all it was a good race for our team with a great group of guys and it was excellent preparation for the Vuelta. The team rode well all week, showed good unity and we can head to the Vuelta with confidence.”

 

Ruben Fernandez shows great Vuelta form with top 10 in Burgos

When one gives everything he's got, nothing else can be done. Rubén Fernández left his impression again on the closing, queen stage of the Vuelta a Burgos, always at the fore of the elite group in the final kilometers of the 163km trek from Caleruega, a traditional route - seven difficult climbs along the way - which Movistar Team rider, then-Katusha Dani Moreno won last year en route to a fantastic 2015 season end.

 

Attempts from the Movistar Team followed one by one, all over the stage. José Joaquín Rojas tried his way in the early moves, yet his attack didn't stick. Later on, José Herrada tried to shake things up on the Cat-1 Pasil de Rozavientos. However, the most consistent move came as Giovanni Visconti joined fellow countrymen Scarponi (AST) and Brambilla (EQS) to tear the race into pieces with 31km to go. During the second ascent of the Collado (Cat-1), the bunch caught the trio as a select group, including Gorka Izagirre and Rubén Fernández among other GC contenders, set an impulsive pace before the Lagunas de Neila. 

 

Fernández  was the last from the Movistar Team to lose sight of the front, resisting from a serious attack by Sergio Pardilla (CJR) with 3km to go before Alberto Contador (TNK) went in the 17% final kilometer to chase the overall victory by only one second over Pardilla and Ben Hermans (BMC). The Blues leave the 2016 Vuelta a Burgos with Fernández  in 6th place - 7th today -, and already think of the Tour de l'Ain, where Richard Carapaz will make his debut.

 

Rubén Fernández said: 

 

“It was a beautiful Vuelta a Burgos, just as it is every year we race here. It’s a great test event before the Vuelta a España, and it’d be really worth having it as part of the WorldTour. Gaps were really so tight; at the team time trial, Etixx and us were just hundredths of a second apart, Astana only put three seconds on us - that’s why we kept in mind that everything would come down to today’s finish.

 

“The team worked impressively well; they really put a gamble on me 100%, not leaving any energies unspent in this finale. The last part, with the two climbs of Rozavientos, were really tough for us. Both Gorka, who set a demanding pace to create that decisive selection on the Collado with the ten of us, and the rest of the group really behaved well and made efforts to keep me saving energy for that final, brutal climb.

 

“In the end, I just couldn’t follow the pace by Alberto and the podium finishers; it’s been awful not to reward my team-mates with some success but that final kilometer, with the 13% slopes after the turn right under the flamme rouge, made things really difficult. All in all, I’m happy with the last month of racing for me, together with Pologne - these legs should allow me doing well in the Vuelta, where I hope to be.”

 

Gianluca Brambilla animates Burgos queen stage

Gianluca Brambilla lit up stage 5 of Vuelta a Burgos, with an attack that spread panic in the peloton, launched with around 30 kilometers left. A dangerous man in the general classification, the Etixx – Quick-Step rider went all in on the first-category Pasil de Rozavientos, where he was joined by Michele Scarponi (Astana) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar); the trio caught Omar Fraile (Dimension Data), the sole leader of the race, and in this formula continued to power away, increasing their lead to one minute by the bottom of the second-to-last ascent, Alto del Collado.

 

Behind, the peloton got organized, with the likes of Orica-BikeExchange and Tinkoff taking command and setting a pace which cut the gap of the quartet to 35 seconds. Eventually, the chasers bridged across on Lagunas de Neila, the mythical climb of the Vuelta a Burgos, where everything was to be decided in terms of stage win and overall standings at the 38th edition. Inside the final 10 kilometers, the group was caught, but this didn't stop Brambilla from laying down an important workload at the head of what was now a reduced peloton, before going again to the attack and forcing an important selection.

 

Despite being reeled in again, the 27-year-old remained at the pointy end of the group, tracking a move of Sergio Pardilla, who surged clear with four kilometers remaining of the HC ascent. The Spaniard opened a 50-second lead, which was kept under control only by the Italian, who reduced the advantage of the Caja Rural rider to 35 seconds in the last two kilometers. The huge and admirable effort he put in took its toll on Brambilla, who had no response when Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and Ben Hermans (BMC) attacked. The two couldn't make the junction to Pardilla, who won the stage with a comfortable gap, while Contador took the overall spoils, one second ahead of Hermans.

 

After the most testing day of Vuelta a Burgos, one which featured seven classified climbs, Gianluca Brambilla arrived exhausted but satisfied at the finish atop Lagunas de Neila, as his solid display in the five-stage race comes as a good omen with two weeks to go to the start of the Vuelta a España. Brambilla completed Burgos in seventh place, just 36 seconds down on the winner, for his 13th top-10 of the season, one in which he also got two victories, in the Challenge Mallorca and Giro d'Italia.

Matvey Mamykin confirms his talent by taking best young rider win in Burgos

Saturday brought the fifth and final stage in the 38th Vuelta a Burgos with Team KATUSHA’s 21-year old Matvey Mamykin the best young rider on the general classification, an honor that bodes well for the Russian rider.

 

“It’s a pity that this Burgos race does not give a jersey to the best young rider; otherwise it would have been for Mamykin. Matvey is the only U23 rider in the top ten, finishing eighth. He has a nice future in front of him. In the end he was with the best riders - really many big riders in this race – until 1-1.5 km from the end when Contador launched his attack on the Lagunas de Neila mountaintop finish. Tiago [Machado] did not have a good day, but Mayvey did not disappoint,” said director Xavier Florencio.

 

Mamykin took tenth on the stage (+1:16) and moved into 8th overall at 57-seconds behind race winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff).

 

“I can be happy about the entire team. We wanted to be in the break today too. It took 60 km to arrive at a good break wand we were there with Restrepo. Jhonatan, together with 5 others, got a maximum gap of 3 minutes and were only caught at 7 km from the finish,” explained Florencio.

 

Astana: Scarponi tried to surprise the favourites

"We tried to surprise the favorites with Michele Scarponi who attacked when there were 32 km to the finish,” said Astana sports director Giuseppe Martinelli.

 

"Michele and others three riders were caught with only 10 km to go, then we have lost ground on the final climb.

 

"However, we are pleased with the overall test of the team in this Vuelta a Burgos. It has been a preparation step towards the Vuelta a Espana - which will begin on the next August 20 - and we were protagonists winning a stage and wearing the leader's jersey for two days with Dmitri Gruzdev ".

 

Dario Cataldo finished 13th at 1.14.

 

Giant-Alpecin stagiaire tests himself, Haga on the attack in Burgos queen stage

With teams and riders looking to set plans for later on in the stage, there was a huge fight to be part of the breakaway, with a number of moves being closed down in the early phase of the race. Eventually, a move stuck and Chad Haga managed to be in the seven-man breakaway. With 20km, three riders pushed on from the break and Haga was distanced from the front group.

 

Nobody from the Giant-Alpecin was involved in the tough uphill finish and it was Martijn Tusveld who finished first for the team in 28th place.

 

Chad Haga said: “I felt good today and preferred to gamble for the win instead of fighting for a top-20 placing. Unfortunately, the GC teams started racing too soon for my breakaway effort to have any real chance.”

 

Martijn Tusveld commented: “In the first stages I had the task to try and get in the breakaway, but today I got a free chance to save energy and look for how long I could stay in the first group. I managed to stay with the best until 7 km to go. Then it was over for me. I am happy about my performance during the whole week. We did an offensive race and I also learnt a lot.”

 

Coach Morten Bennekou added: “It was a very hard queen stage today. Since we had no GC to defend I gave all riders a free card to aim for a good result. We did not make it in the breakaway however on the category two climb Chad did a strong move to bridge the gap with the front group.  But in the finale, his group got caught and our best rider on the day was then Tusveld in 28th place which I think is a good result for him.”

 

Difficult Vuelta a Burgos for Roompot

The first participation of Roompot - Orange Peloton in the Vuelta a Burgos did not live up to expectations.  A crash in the opening stage, and the subsequent abandonment of two riders was to blame. 

 

Early in the first stage, Marc de Maar hit the ground. The veteran who had just started his first stage race after a lengthy knee injury, broke his right collarbone. Later Antwan Tolhoek was involved in a crash too. After a natural break, the young climber saw a team car too late and rode straight into it. Tolhoek even flew through the rear window of the car and suffered injuries to his chin. He still finished the stage but after a night in the hospital it was decided to abandon.

 

With two fewer riders, the team had no chance in the TTT where they ended in last place. Also in the third stage, the orange riders were unable to be in the mix. In stage 4, Jesper Asselman made ​​his presence felt. He spent the day in the break and survived until 7km remained. André Looij have won the sprint of the second group but it was only good enough for 53rd place.

 

In the queen to the top of Lagunas de Neila, Reinier Honig was in the break. In the finale, Pieter Weening stayed in the front group for a long time. As 71st, he was the highest ranked rider in the GC.

 

Small ONE team survive Burgos queen stage

ONE Pro Cycling lined up on the start line for the final stage, reduced to just four riders Karol Domagalski, Yanto Barker, Steele Von Hoff and Sebastian Lander as Martin Mortensen suffered a stomach bug and John Ebsen broke his collarbone on the previous stage.

 

Karol Domagalski, Yanto Barker, Steele Von Hoff and Sebastian Lander all finished safely following the brutal climb to the line.

 

A fantastic event, Vuelta a Burgos included some brutal stage profiles and testing courses for a strong field of riders. The team has taken a lot from the event and will spend a few days resting up and recovering before the next race on the calendar, The Artic Tour of Norway which takes place between the 11th – 14th August.