Welcome everyone to the opening race of the 2018 Continental Tour season. For the 6th year we are in Cuba to watch how the division starts off with a battle between the best puncheurs of CT. The strenght of the hilly field in CT is amazing this year, with guys as Di Maggio, Gautier, Meyer, Ben Nasser, Zaini, Teuns, Edmondson or Siskevicius being the favourites for the win today, while in previous season all would have been standout favourites for the win that in 2017 took Anthony Roux.
And we are now live from Cuba, where the race has just started!
Very aggresive racing from the very beggining, and Eddie Stobart wants to control the race for his leader Travis Meyer, so a first move with Vermeulen, Schlemmer and De Bondt doesn’t stick for long. There’s a counter-attack by Koch, Meiler and Brkic, but it’s not likely to stick, with Valio taking over Eddie Stobart in the controlling duties, while a Minions rider tries to join the trio
After a few more attacks by some riders of the team that had tried it before, the move that will be succesfull is a lonely move by Davide Ballerini, but the DK Zalgiris team, which is making his debut in MG today. We’ll see if someone decides to join the Italian rider, or if he’s up for a lonely ride in the front
First time through the finish line, of a total of 5 times during the race, and the attacks from the bunch are back, with De Bondt quickly catching Ballerini in this climb. He’s followed by Pszczolarski, Dina and Matsumoto. Valio is still trying to control the attack with Hasta
It seems like Valio is happy with a 3-rider breakaways, as De Bondt and Pszszolarski joined Ballerini in the front, and in just a few kms have built a 3-minute gap
60 kms to go and we are starting the penultimate lap of the race. The leading trio had 7 minutes as their max advantage, but now it’s down to 3 minutes again. Maybe it’s too soon, but we could see some moves from lower tier riders trying to surprise the favourites. Something to have in mind is that we are seeing winds of over 40 km/h, which can really affect racing, specially if it’s head-wind in the climbs
An amazing relay by Helme in the climb of Las Terrazas, creates a group with only 13 riders, which has broken away from the bunch. And in the group we have 5 riders of MOL, so if they are really interested on this move, the bunch shouldn’t be able to comeback, as caught up behind of the big favourites it’s only Meyer, while Cerveceria Costa Rica riders are nowhere to be seen in the bunch
Helme, Hasta, Gautier Amanuel, Cayhadi, Mancuso, Di Maggio, Michely Ben Nasser Edmondson Siskevicius Kadri Mehr-Wenige
Meanwhile, in the breakaway, De Bondt insane rhythm has dropped Ballerini, while Pszczolarski managed to hang on his wheel by the skin of his teeth. They only have just over a minute of gap with 40 kms left, but with Eddie Stobart having managed to make the junction to the Valio/ENI group, they might still have a bit a freedom
Ballerini has been caught by the bunch with just over 20 kms to go, as Cerveceria Costa Rica is setting a high pace in the flat roads, trying to make use of the lateral wind. The gap of the two escapees is only 40 seconds, and it’s even unlikely they start the first of the two climbs left ahead of the bunch
End of the journey for De Bondt and Pszszolarski, in the exact moment that the group reaches the first slopes of this climb, with 15 kms left
And the first one in the move is Ben Nasser! Once the Tunisian felt that Helme’s pace wasn’t good enough, he launched the first attack between the favourites. And the first one to respond is Di Maggio
But the move didn’t stick, as the Tunisian had all the pre-race favourites on his wheel, so he didn’t want to drag them all. Still around 80 riders in this group, with maybe Gougeard and Mendes the biggest names missing, since they were dropped in the flat before this climb
Ben Nasser with a second attempt, using the little downhill before the climb kicks up again. And Gautier and Meyer stick on his wheel, leaving behind Siskevicius the responsability of chasing them down.
They were caught in the final km of this climb, but Ben Nasser tried it for a third time, and this time it was the lucky one. Again Gautier and Meyer were on his wheel, but this time Siskevicius joined them too
Thirty seconds behind, Gonzalez Cortes and Hoelgaard were working for Teuns, trying to chase down the four riders in front
Only five kms for the leading group, where Ben Nasser keeps doing all the work, like if he had infinite energies, as he’s probably wearing himself for the final climb, which will start in less than 2 kms
Still 30 seconds behind Ben Nasser’s group, Cerveceria Costa Rica keeps working for Dylan Teuns, in a group with around 25 riders, which includes 2016 winner, Gasore Hategeka
Within the final 3 kms, Cerveceria made his goal of catching the leaders, and the first one to make his move for the win is Zaini, with just 2,2 kms to go
Gautier is perfectly placed on Zaini’s wheel, like he has been all-race, always in the perfect spot in the ideal moment, and looks great for the final sprint. Behind him, a huge line of riders following each others wheel ready for the sprint in this orden
Zaini - Gautier - Ben Nasser - Meyer - Siskevicius - Edmondson - Di Maggio - Vichot - Kadri - Teklit
But wait! Under the Flamme Rouge, Gautier seems to be struggling despite being in the first position, and the same is happening to Meyer and Siskevicius. But the rider that seems to be on fire right now is Edmondson!
But with 700 metres to go it’s Zaini again in the prime position, and is slowly getting away from Gautier, who seems to be blocking Edmondson’s progression. The same ten riders we talk before the final kms are the same riders that have opened a gap to the second group, where riders like Hoelgaard, Teuns, Selander, Dieteren or Hategeka are trying to reach the lower top10 spots
Edmondson finally get rid of Gautier’s block, but it’s too late for him to fight for the win, as Zaini is flying right now, seen he’s got a gap and he’s only 300 metres away from a big win today
And Tommy Zaini can celebrate now, because he’s the winner of Clasico San Cristobal! What a win for his team, Compal, who just went under a huge rebuild after their relegation to CT this year
Second place for Gautier, who after being always in the right moves, just lacked a bit of strenght to fight for the win, managing to hold off Edmondson, who has to settle for a third place
Di Maggio makes a big comeback in the final 200 metres to steal the fourth place from Ben Nasser’s hands in the line. The Tunisian was the big animator of the race, but he gave too much in those attacks to have a chance to win in the sprint. Still a Top5 result isn’t a bad one
Meyer and Siskevicius efforts are only enough for 6th and 7th today, while Teklit gets a very nice 8th place for Equinor. Behind the African rider, Delvaux duo, Vichot and Kadri, gets the final Top10 places
Maillet surprises everyone to snatch 11th place, with Teuns coming behind him, probably being the biggest disappoinment of the day, with Selander, Gonzalez Cortes and Khripta completing Top15
Great day of racing to start the season here in Cuba, with the Italian Zaini taking the win and the first 45 points of the season for CT riders. Obviously nothing big was achieved today in terms of points, but it’s always better to start the season with a good performance that not
