Double top-ten in chaotic opener in Argentina

Sebastian Molano opened the Vuelta a San Juan with a solid 4th place on stage 1 of the South American season opener.

As the race began, Fernando Gaviria had some bad luck in the opening kilometres suffering a puncture but would go on to rejoin the peloton quickly with the help of his teammates.

On the run-in to the line there was a sizeable crash which affected all but thirty riders at 3km to go. This caused havoc in the bunch as sprint trains scrambled to get into position. Ultimately it finished in a tight sprint with Frenchman Rudy Barbier (ISU Nation) taking the win with Sebastian Molano close in 4th in a blanket finish. Fernando Gaviria, hampered by the crash, recovered to claim 9th on the day.

Tomorrow’s stage starts and finished in Pocito (168.7km) with laps of a circuit which is likely to end in another mass sprint. The TT specialists will finally get their opportunity on stage 3 with the 15km individual time-trial.

Molano: “It was a complicated stage. In the end the team made the best of the situation. 3km from the line there was a big crash which had us looking around to see who was affected and so we were a little unorganized coming into the finish.”

Gaviria : “The stage went well, none of team has crashed which is always good. We worked to try and win the stage but there was confusion in the end after the crash. Tomorrow is another good stage for us and an opportunity to go for the win so we will be hoping for a good result.”

Stage 1 Results
1.Rudy Barbier (ISU Nation) 3h45:14
2.Manuel Belletti (Androni) @ 0’’
3. Tomas Contte (Munincipalidad de Pocito) @ 0’’
4.Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) @ 0’’

General Classification after stage 1
1.Rudy Barbier (ISU Nation) 3h45:14
2.Manuel Belletti (Androni) @ 0’’
3. Tomas Contte (Munincipalidad de Pocito) @ 0’’
4.Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) @ 0’’