Enric Mas seizes Vuelta a Burgos best young rider's jersey after finishing just outside the podium.
Four months since Vuelta al Pais Vasco, where a knee injury forced him to pull out of the race and go through a lengthy recovery period, Julian Alaphilippe showed he is back on track for the second part of the season with a fine display on the opening day of Vuelta a Burgos, held over 151 kilometers over a rolling terrain which culminated with an uphill finish averaging 6.1% in the closing kilometer.
Julian, who prior to this event raced the Grand Prix Cerami two weeks ago, completed the stage just three seconds off the pace of Mikel Landa (Team Sky), who nabbed the win ahead of Sergei Chernetckii (Astana), after the day-long breakaway featuring Pieter Serry was caught inside the last 15 kilometers and Matteo Trentin's late courageous attack was closed down; now, Alaphilippe will start stage 2 (Oña – Belorado, 151 kilometers) in third overall, ahead of teammate Enric Mas.
The young Spaniard – who came off the back of a solid Clasica San Sebastian – was another Quick-Step Floors rider to impress on Tuesday's opening leg of Vuelta a Burgos, as he dropped some of the peloton's biggest names on Alto del Castillo to move himself into the best young rider hot seat.
"I'm super happy to be back in race mode! The team did a really great job and we played several cards, missing out on the win for just a few seconds. The finish was very fast and the peloton really strung out. I'm glad I could be in the front during the final, this result is good for the confidence and for the next stages. We'll just take it one day at a time and see how things go", a smiling Julian Alaphilippe explained in Burgos.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
