The Spanish Caja Rural team started very well in the French race Tour du Gevaudan. Amets Txurruka finished 2nd on the first stage of the race, Pello Bilbao was 5th and Angel Madrazo is the leading rider in the KOM competition. The stage was won by Thomas Degand of Wanty Groupe Gobert.

Amets Txurruka was left with mixed emotions as he felt the win had been within reach.

“The race started right from the start. It became hard due to continuous attacks, but the team were there. Second is not bad, but I’m a bit disappointed because I think I could have won. With two Belgians, it was hard to win but after being in a good spot, I launched my sprint a bit too late. The finish had many corners. The team did well in all the turns, but I didn’t win. We’ll see if we have better luck in the following stages,” Txurruka told the Caja Rural website.

Also Angel Madrazo praises the 2nd place. According to him, the team worked so hard to get Txurruka in the breakaway.

“The peloton was broken from the start and 9 riders got away, including Pello Bilbao and me. After we got reeled in, another group got away with Txurruka, Arroyo and Marcos [Garcia]. They only got 40 seconds before the attacks started again. We caught the attackers and Txurruka was away with 4 other riders. In the end he was second which is great. The team was doing great and I’m now the KOM leader. We will continue to work and see if we have more luck,” Angel Madrazo said.