Remco Evenepoel retains his yellow jersey after coming home in seventh place.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl celebrated for the second time in twenty-four hours at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, after Fabio Jakobsen produced a massive acceleration in the last 200 meters of Thursday’s stage to burst clear of his rivals on the uphill finish of Torrent and take a crushing sprint win.
Fabio, who is riding his first stage race since last September’s La Vuelta – where he captured three stage victories and the green jersey – was perfectly placed coming into the finishing stretch after what had been another tremendous job of his Wolfpack teammates, starting with Josef Cerny, who was quintessential in controlling the six-man break, and ending with yellow jersey Remco Evenepoel, who stretched the peloton inside the closing two kilometers, making sure our lead-out train would be in prime position under the flamme rouge.
Always close to the front of the group, the 25-year-old Dutchman was unfazed by the 5% gradient in the hectic finale and launched his sprint as he came off the wheel of an opponent, putting around seven bike lengths into his closest rivals and winning comfortably for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s 850th victory.
“I came here after a normal winter, with no bad luck or setbacks, a winter where I just enjoyed being with the guys and training together on the roads of Spain. Being here with them again, this time in a race, and getting my first win of the season, feels great. Everybody pulled today, all my teammates did a top job and I want to thank them for that. I was where I needed to be for the final 700 meters, which were uphill, and even though I had some small cramps – which is normal, considering how hot it was but also that it’s my first race of the year – I could bring it home. It’s the perfect way to start the season.”
“Two victories in two days – that really is remarkable, but even more remarkable is that we hit 850 victories, which shows what a great team we are. Every win is special and I would like to be here also when the Wolfpack will get its 1000th victory”, Fabio said of the latest milestone reached by Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl on a day which saw teammate Remco Evenepoel successfully defend his yellow jersey after finishing seventh.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
