Strong start down South in Andalucia

Mikel Landa and Santiago Buitrago scored one podium result each for Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS in the first two stages of the Ruta Ciclista del Sol. In the overall standings, these two riders are positioned in 3rd and 2nd, respectively, and the following three days offer more opportunities for top results.

At the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Pello Bilbao had missed out on a podium spot in the general classification by a mere two seconds and against very strong competition after a chaotic final stage with some crashes. No wonder Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS was looking to make amends ten days later at the Ruta Ciclista del Sol stage race ridden in the very South of Spain. This time Mikel Landa is the team's designated GC captain, with young Colombian Santiago Buitrago as his backup. Throughout the five-day stage race, these two can rely on the support of riders such as Damiano Caruso, Matej Mohoric, Andrea Pasqualon and Edoardo Zambanini. Following his crash at the Tour de France 2022 and long break due to injury, Jack Haig is also returning to racing here.

With an aggregate of 4,000 vertical meters of climbing, the opening stage was considered the Queen's stage. Only seven kilometres separated the top of the last climb from the finish line - six leading downhill and the final kilometre ascending again. The early breakaway was brought back well before the final cat 1 climb of Despiernecaballos, with Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS taking its share of the chasing work. When Tadej Pogacar attacked with 13 kilometres to go from a thinned-out group of race favourites, Santiago Buitrago was the only rider who could get back to him. But when the Slovene accelerated one more time, the Colombian got dropped as well. He finished in the first chasing group with Mikel Landa, who sprinted to 2nd place. With Buitrago in 4th, Caruso in 7th and Haig in 9th, three more riders in orange, red and black made it into the top 10 of this tough stage.

The second stage was a bit less demanding, serving up 2,600 vertical meters over a distance of just a bit over 150 kilometres. A look at the stage profile showed that the final kilometre was very likely to be decisive as it featured an average gradient of 11.5 per cent and some cobblestone sections. At first, Matej Mohoric got a lot of screen time: The Slovene of Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS made it into both breakaways of the day and rode a very strong race in support of his teammates all the way to the final kilometre. Just like the day before, nobody could keep up with Tadej Pogacar on the final climb. But Santiago Buitrago and Mikel Landa both paced their effort well, crossing the finish line 4 seconds behind the stage winner in 3rd and 4th, respectively.

Two days into this five-stage race, Santiago Buitrago sits in 2nd of the overall standings, four seconds ahead of 3rd-placed Mikel Landa. And in the team classification Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS is leading by almost two minutes from its closest competitor, Team Ineos Grenadiers.

69TH VUELTA A ANDALUCIA - RUTA CICLISTA DEL SOL
STAGE 1: PUENTE DE GÉNAVE - SANTIAGO DE LA ESPADA, 179KM
1. Tadej Pogacar, SVN, in 5:04.19 hours
2. Mikel Landa, ESP/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, + 0.38
3. Carlos Rodriguez, ESP, st

STAGE 2: DIEZMA - ALCALA LA REAL, 156.1KM
1. Tadej Pogacar, SVN, in 3:40.10 hours
2. Enric Mas, ESP, + 0.04
3. Santiago Buitrago, COL/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, st

Fotos: Sprint Cycling Agency