Hunter wins opening stage in Tour of Murcia
- Wednesday, 3 March 2010
- 1 Comments
Robbie Hunter wins opening stage, Tour of Murcia 2010, stage one
Tour of Murcia 2010 stage one photo gallery by Graham Watson>>
Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Transitions) won the opening stage of the 2010 Tour of Murcia in Spain on Wednesday.
Hunter came out on top in the bunch sprint finish in San Pedro del Pinatar after 166.5km of racing over undulating terrain.
The South African earned the right to wear the leader's jersey, with Australian Graeme Brown (Rabobank) in second and Spaniard Vicente Reynes (HTC-Columbia) in third.
Hunter made the move to the US-based Garmin-Transitions squad after his former Barloworld squad pulled the plug at the end of the 2009 season.
British riders Russell Downing (Team Sky) and Ian Wilkinson (Endura) were also in the mix during the final gallop to the line, coming eighth and tenth respectively.
Alexandre Blain, a Frenchman riding for the British-based Endura Racing Team, earned himself the intermediate sprint jersey after playing an active role in the day's big four-man breakaway.
Blain, Danny Pate (Garmin-Transitions), Ruben Reig (Caja Rural) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) gained over five minutes on the bunch at their peak, but were slowly reeled in and caught with 20km to the finish.
"I decided with the wind and the climbs today that I would go on the attack," Blain said at the finish.
"I wanted the Meta Volantes jersey and I took that today. I am pleased, it shows that we are not just here for show but that we came to race. This is good for the Endura Racing Team. I am very pleased."
All of the pre-race favourites, including Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) and Andreas Kloden (RadioShack), finished safely in the main bunch at the same time as Hunter.
Thursday's stage two from Calasparra to Caravaca de la Cruz features two big climbs, and will give the overall contenders and climbers a chance to stretch their legs.
RESULTS
Tour of Murcia 2010: Stage one
1. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Transitions in 4-15-40
2. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3. Vicente Reynes (Spa) HTC-Columbia
4. Roger Kluge (Ger) Milram
5. Daryl Impey (RSA) RadioShack
6. Kristof Jezowski (Pol) CCC
7. Michael Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil
8. Russell Downing (GB) Team Sky
9. Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp
10. Ian Wilkinson (GB) Endura all same time.
Other/British
21. Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky
29. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky
33. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
46. Lance Armstrong (USA) RadioShack at same time
58. Evan Oliphant (GB) Endura at 38secs
71. Rob Partridge (GB) Endura at 2-48
82. James Moss (GB) Endura at 7-46
83. Ross Creber (GB) Endura at 7-46
Overall classification after stage one
1. Robbie Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Transitions in 4-15-40
2. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3. Vicente Reynes (Spa) HTC-Columbia
4. Roger Kluge (Ger) Milram
5. Daryl Impey (RSA) RadioShack
6. Kristof Jezowski (Pol) CCC
7. Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil
8. Russell Downing (GB) Team Sky
9. Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp
10. Ian Wilkinson (GB) Endura
RadioShack head up the bunch
Alexandre Blain leads the breakaway
Lance Armstrong takes the helm
Robbie Hunter takes the sprint win ahead of Graeme Brown
Hunter earns the right to wear the yellow jersey
Related links
Tour of Murcia 2010, stage one photo gallery by Graham Watson
Tour of Murcia 2010 preview
Reader comments
Add your commentsMarch 04 12:41
Mark Jones
This is great for British cycling to see two riders like Downing and Wilkinson in the top ten and will hopefully give other domestic riders a belief that they can do it too. Endura were very unlucky in Haut Var and it looks like they are adjusting as they get more accustomed to this kind of racing. Hopefully their run in France and Spain will encourage other domestic teams to do more European races. Well done to Blain too, I'm sure he is going to be something special this year and well done to Endura for picking him up. The future of British cycling looks very rosy.