Paris (AFP)
Resumption of high-level cycling after the stop due to the pandemic and victory for Félix Grossschartner: the Austrian of the Bora team won Tuesday in Spain, in the 1st stage of the Tour de Burgos, and seized of the leader's jersey.
At the foot of the walls of Burgos Castle, Grossschartner, a 26-year-old runner with a thin mustache, broke free on the climb to the finish line. He preceded by a few seconds the vanguard of the peloton led by the Portuguese Joao Almeida ahead of the Spaniard Alejandro Valverde.
Before the start of the 157 kilometers, the coronavirus recalled the peloton through the Israel SN team which withdrew, "as a precaution", the Israeli Itamar Einhorn from the entries. Einhorn has been in contact recently with his teammate Omer Goldstein, so far asymptomatic but positive for Covid-19 and quarantined on Monday.
Masks on the podium during the official ceremonies, temperature measurements, distance vis-à-vis the public, sanitary measures were applied at the start by the teams competing in this race which has an exceptional range compared to its previous editions ( Valverde, Evenepoel, S. Yates, Carapaz, Landa, Mas, Aru, Trentin, M. Pedersen, Gaviria, Stuyven, Démare, Gaudu).
In this stage, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel offered himself a solitary exit some 35 kilometers from the finish after intense racing movements. The Belgian phenomenon quickly secured a forty-second lead and extended his effort over ten kilometers.
On Wednesday, the second stage promises to be favorable to the sprinters over 168 kilometers between Castrojeriz and Villadiego.
© 2020 AFP