Gianluca Brambilla took his second pro win and the first 2016 victory for Etixx-QuickStep when he successfully completed a great solo ride at the Trofeo Pollenca-Andratx, the second race of the Challenge Mallorca. The Italian held off a strong chase group that was led to the finish by Michal Kwiatkowski in his first race for Sky and his Etixx-QuickStep teammate Zdenek Stybar.

 

We have gathered several reactions and will add more later.

 

Brambilla: I am proud to beat two former world champions

“I am much stronger than in the past, more confident, and for 2016 I really want to take a victory, because I miss that special feeling” – those were the words of Gianluca Brambilla when asked about his ambitions for the new season back in December, at the team’s first training camp, in Denia. Coming off a year which saw him break his collarbone in the spring and miss some important races, before returning in the second half of the season and putting on a strong showing in the Vuelta a España, Il Lombardia and Abu Dhabi Tour, the Italian was very motivated to finally get his maiden victory in the Etixx – Quick-Step jersey and prove he is back to his best.

It took Brambilla only one day to land that much desired win, which came in the Trofeo Pollença-Port de Andratx (162.6 km), the second race of the Challenge Mallorca. To cap a perfect day for Etixx – Quick-Step, Zdenek Stybar came third, just behind Michal Kwiatkowski, with two other of the team’s riders – Maxime Bouet (12th), who also was in one of the day’s break, and Niki Terpstra (14th) – finishing the Trofeo Pollença-Port de Andratx in the top 15.

“It’s really incredible to take this victory. It was a long and hard race, considering the peloton was split on the penultimate descent and I had to fight my way back together with Gianni Meersman. On the last climb, I was returning to the group alongside Gianni, who told me he wasn’t having his best day and that I should go by myself. I caught the peloton, and on the descent I attacked together with other riders, but no one was willing to pull, so I decided to leave them and do my own race in the final 20 kilometers”, said Gianluca Brambilla after bringing the team its third victory of the year.

“When the official moto of the race came with 10 kilometers to go and showed me that I have 30 seconds over the chasers, I said to myself that this will be an all or nothing race. I looked behind, there was no one there, and I rode as hard as I could. In the final kilometer I was sure I will hold them off and I’ll win.

 

“This result comes as a confirmation of the sacrifices I’ve made to get here. To come first ahead of riders like Kwiatkowski, Cancellara and Valverde is something that makes me extremely proud. I’m very happy for starting my season with such a great ride and I’d like to dedicate this victory to the father of my girlfriend, who passed away last year. I promised him that the first victory I’ll get with Etixx – Quick-Step will be for him. I will continue to work hard and to be always there when the team will need me”, concluded the Italian, who is also preparing to become a father for the first time, in May.

 

"I'm not a winner," admitted the Italian in an interview with BiciCiclismo. "This victory is fantastic, especially because of the podium. I am ahead of two world champions and two great friends. I'm very happy.

 

"My form is good, but not super good. The course was hard. I was dropped on the penultimate descent because there were many attacks but I could rejoin the group on the long climb and from there I tried to give the best of myself. U was in a group ahead with Trentin. As there was not a lot of collaboration, I attacked on a small climb. I went alone the last 20 kilometers and pushed all the way to the end.

 

It was a great personal goal because I'm not a rider that wins every year, but I have helped others get the wins. Today I took advantage of my opportunity.

 

"I will continue here. It'm very happy in my team, I am very grateful to Patrick (Lefevere), and this is the way I have to go. I have to win and help the team to do it.”

 

Motivated Michal Kwiatkowski second in his first race in Sky colours

Michal Kwiatkowski raced to a second place finish on his Team Sky debut at Challenge Mallorca.

 

The Pole sprinted from a severely reduced peloton but couldn't catch Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx - Quick-Step), who had attacked with 10 kilometres remaining and bravely clung on for the race win.

 

Leopold Konig, who was also part of an early breakaway, finished ninth on a successful day for the team.

 

Konig joined a 35-man breakaway in the early stages of the race and it stayed clear for around 100km, before being caught with 40km left.

 

Lotto Soudal and Dimension Data had pulled the peloton along in an attempt to close the gap but, once the leaders were caught, the race heated up.

 

Another large group went clear and the peloton fractured, before eventual winner Brambilla attacked.

 

Team Sky's Lars Petter Nordhaug joined a seven-man group attempting to close Brambilla down and that quickly blossomed into a 25-man group, with team-mates Konig and Kwiatkowski joining him.

 

But Brambilla fought hard, maintaining a 20-second gap for the final 5km, and he was able to hold off Kwiatkowski and the rest of the chasing bunch.

 

Speaking to TeamSky.com after the race, Team Sky Sport Director Servais Knaven said it was nearly a perfect day for the team.

 

He said: "It was a good day - almost perfect! It was a really hard day and the team was strong, the guys were riding well, but it was a bit weird in the final stages with one guy [Brambilla] riding away on his own. He went the wrong way round a roundabout, got a gap, and then the guys in the break were looking at each other and nobody chased.

 

"Lars-Petter [Nordhaug] was in that group and the other group came back, with Kwiato and Konig, and they all tried to catch the guy, but they just couldn't take him. It was a pity.

 

"Leo [Konig] was in the early break too and riding really well. That was a little tricky because it was such a big group, but we knew with Leo we had a strong guy up there, so we could play a little bit of poker. Other teams took it on though and it came back together."

 

It didn't stay that way for long though and there were lots of attacks on a descent, leaving Kwiatkowski, Konig and Nordhaug as Sky's only representatives in the front bunch.

 

"That was a good situation," added Knaven. "We didn't have much information from the radio though and we were really far back in the car so we couldn't talk to the riders. They didn't know exactly what was going on or where everybody was, so it was pretty… I don't want to say chaotic… maybe special!"

 

Knaven believes that spirit is strong in the camp and the whole team is desperate for a win tomorrow.

 

"Tomorrow is the toughest day of the week and the guys are really motivated for that. We will go for it, Kwiato will go for it, and we have a bunch of good guys here who can all go for the win.

 

"Kwiato will be super motivated to go for his first win for the team so maybe it was good he was second today - he'll be extra-motivated!"

 

After the race, Kwiatkowski claimed to have had a "great winter" and was very pleased with the outcome even though the win escaped him. "I felt good, the team was in a good position with Nordhaug and König. We could play our cards, but Brambilla won so we can only congratulate him because he did very well," he told Biciclismo after getting off the podium in Andratx.

 

"I'm very happy with how I started the season with Team Sky, I was very excited about my debut, so I'm happy to reach the podium in the first race of the season. It shows I'm on the right path."

 

The Polish rider will be one of the favourites in the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana which takes place on Saturday, a race he won in 2014. "I'm very motivated and confident on this type of course, but it is completely different and will be a difficult day. It is also the first races of the season, so we'll see what my feelings are," he said.

 

The 2014 World champion feels very supported at Team Sky. "I had a great winter, very well supported by everybody. It is great to have teammates like Froome, Landa and many others, so I think I can take a big step forward in this team and I'm ready to win important races," he said.

 

Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Tour de Romandie are the races in the first part of his calendar. "Of course, I want to do well in the classics, Amstel, Liege, and return to Flanders ... Then I would love to be good at the Tour de France and being next to Froome there and then go to the Olympics," he concluded.

 

Van Baarle continues solid season start for Cannondale

Dylan van Baarle was the best finisher for ‪#Cannondale in Port de Andratx on the second day of Challenge Mallorca. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) soloed to victory following a late race attack. Van Baarle came to the line in a group of 16 fighting for the lesser spots on the podium. The 23-year-old managed fifth place and said:

 

"I was in the second group after the climbs in the second group because it split on the downhill, but I made it to the front group on the next climb. The legs were really good today.

 

"I was the only one in the group when the last selection was made. At 400 meters to go, Visconti did a lead-out for Valverde. I was in Visconti’s wheel. I made my jump before the corner on 200 meters, which was a little bit to early. My legs were completely empty, and I couldn’t jump again."

 

Fabian Cancellara close to first win of final season in Mallorca

A hilly second day at the Mallorca Challenge (Trofeo Pollenca-Andratx) reduced the peloton to 17 strong legs by the end, and Fabian Cancellara brandished his good form with a 6th place finish. 

 

Bauke Mollema and Jasper Stuyven also flaunted their early season fitness, joining the elite front group in the final 30 kilometers: Stuyven made the final selection after riding out front all race in a 36-man breakaway, and Mollema joined the choice mix of riders when the hammer came down, hard, in the last big climbs that splintered the peloton for good.

 

Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep) bolted away from the leading goup after a technical descent with 20 kilometers to go and held off the chase to seal a hard-earned win. On the final rise before the finish, Bauke Mollema pulled furiously, valiantly trying to bring things together for Cancellara. Although the gap was reduced drastically to Brambilla, who exercised nearly 40 seconds lead at one point, in the finish he held enough seconds in hand to salute his win.

 

"When Brambilla went alone, Bauke made a sacrifice for Fabian by pulling hard in the chase," explained Trek-Segafredo director Alain Gallopin. "We pulled, and Movistar pulled…in the end, Fabian's sprint could have been a little better, but the win was already done."

 

Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) sprinted to second from the chase group and Zdenek Stybar (Eitxx-QuickStep) rounded out the top three.

 

 Trek-Segafredo entered day two of the four-race series highly motivated and displayed excellent early season form and team cohesion. A 36-man breakaway shaped in the early going of the 153-kilometer race and Trek-Segafredo placed two key men in the escape, and later when the fireworks materialized in the critical part of the race Mollema, Cancellara and Stuyven survived the melee with Fabio Felline a hair from also joining the final selection.

 

"Our tactic today was to race for Fabian," explained Alain Gallopin. "A big group went with 36 guys with Greggy (Rast) and Jasper; that was our plan to put some guys in a big group. We knew very well the parcours – in our training camp during our long training days we checked the finish and also the beginning of this stage. We were motivated for today.

 

"We knew there were two climbs in the last 50 kilometers that also had tricky downhills. The group broke in the downhill, and this is where [Fabio] Felline just missed making the front group. It's too bad because we missed having him in the front at the end, he is also very strong, too. 

 

"Jasper was very, very good. Also Greggy – I can say that the level of the team is very high for the start of the season. I want to see the team reach a big result before the end of this race," said Gallopin, and then smiled, "perhaps tomorrow."

 

Valverde misses out in first race of the 2016 season

After quite a calm first day for the Movistar Team in the plains between Felanitx and Porreres, the riders directed by Garcia Acosta and Laguía at the Challenge Mallorca showed up at the front, as soon as the first elevations came. And one of them was notably present: Alejandro Valverde.

 

The 2015 UCI World no. 1 was the top finisher for the telephone squad (8th) in his season debut at the 153km Trofeo Pollença - Andratx on Friday, a fast race (over 42kph average) with three categorized climbs: Femenies (Cat.2), Grau and Galilea -both Cat.3-. The first ascent saw a huge, 35-rider breakaway forming up, with debutant Jorge Arcas and Giovanni Visconti protecting the Blues' interest. The gap, never allowed more than 2'30", was closed by Lotto-Soudal, which launched young hopeful Tiesj Benoot ahead on the following côtes as José Herrada and Gorka Izagirre also tried to make the front.

 

Izagirre ultimately found himself in a seven-man group in pursuit of solo leader Gianluca Brambilla (EQS). The counter was chased down while the Italian won with a small margin over the first peloton, led by Kwiatkowski (SKY, 2nd) and Stybar (EQS, 3rd). Valverde and Visconti (10th) made the first sheet of results, with José Herrada also consistent in 15th spot; Arcas, in 24th; and Dayer Quintana, back after his San Luis win, 25th.

 

Action in Mallorca will resume with Saturday's demanding Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana: 144km with no less than seven categorized ascents and another uphill finish in Deià, scene for Valverde's first win of his extraordinary 2015 season. Erviti, José Herrada, the two Izagirre brothers, Javi Moreno, Dayer Quintana and Visconti will join 'Bala' in the Queen stage in the Balearic islands.

 

Boasson Hagen fails to finish off great Dimension Data teamwork

Dimension Data had Jay Thomson jump across the 40 second gap to the big leading group early in the race, just before the start of the cat 2 Col de Femenias. 

 

With such a big group ahead and the team having a potential race winner in Edvald Boasson Hagen back in the peloton, th African Team came to the front of the peloton to control the escape while Thomson policed things up front. With the gap reaching a maximum lead of 2 minutes, theboys did a stellar job in reeling the break back in on the final climb of the day. 

 

The pressure of the chase was such that by the time they had caught the escape group, there were only 26 riders left in the front of the race and still 30km left to race. It was at this point that a number of counter attacks followed and Brambilla made his race-winning move. 

 

Arriving at the line just seconds before the chase group, Brambilla took a good win while the uphill sprint finish had Boasson Hagen roll across the line in 11th position on the day.

”It was a fast day and the guys did a good job controlling the race,” Boasson Hagen said. “They were pretty much riding on the front from the start and it was good. The race really exploded on the final climb and I was happy to make the front selection. It was a bit of a crazy final, I had to jump onto the pavement a few times as it was quite technical. I didn't have the legs for the final uphill sprint but in general, the guys were really good today. I missed out but that's how it is sometimes.”