Dani Moreno (Katusha) pipped Sergio Henao (Sky Procycling) in a photo finish in stage one of the Vuelta a Burgos, taking the first leader’s jersey in the race in which he finished second last year. Moreno’s team-mate Joaquim Rodriguez was the overall winner in 2011 and finished safely in the main pack on stage one.
Ian Stannard (Sky Procycling) was the final man remaining from a large early breakaway, and was pulled back by Rabobank and Orica-GreenEdge with less than five kilometres to race. The stage finished on the category-three Ojo Guareña climb, though most teams were still setting up their sprinters, with fast climbers like Moreno trying to disrupt proceedings.
Orica-GreenEdge led into the final kilometre but Moreno came to the fore, using high speeds and the gradient to hold off the sprinters. Henao made a last-second move but left it too late, and was edged out by the Spaniard. Matti Breschel (Rabobank) was third, followed by sprinters Allan Davis (Orica-GreenEdge) and French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-BigMat).
Katusha sporting director Mario Chiesa said that his squad had targeted the stage for Moreno, and not Rodriguez, as the former is in better condition currently. Rodriguez even worked for his countryman during the stage.
“It was a very fast stage – we were quite calm because we had [Xavier] Florencio in the breakaway, a rider who could win if the chase turned out to be useless,” Moreno explained afterward. “In the last kilometer we started the final uphill, and when the group neutralized the breakaway we decided to take the lead - first [Angel] Vicioso, then Rodriguez imposed their will for me, then I started my sprint with 300 meters to go.
“I want to thank my teammates. I won quite easily thanks to their work, even if during the sprint a motorbike was in the middle of the route and I had to slow down. Anyway, I’m very happy with my performance and my shape. I was surprised I felt so good after some time without any competition, but we worked hard during the training camps and this result is the proof that we’re doing things the right way. Maybe I’ll suffer a little more in longer, steeper climbing, but right now I’m very satisfied.”
A large group of 16 got away early, featuring Florencio, Angel Madrazo (Movistar), Ricardo Garcia (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Maciej Paterski (Liquigas-Cannondale), Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge), Arnaud Gerard (FDJ-BigMat), Stannard, Juan Antonio Flecha, and Danny Pate (Sky Procycling), Aitor Galdos (Caja Rural), Jose Toribio (Andalucia), Tobias Ludvigsson (Argos-Shimano), Jonathan Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli), Paul Poux (Saur-Sojasun), Francesco Reda (Acqua & Sapone), and Luis Mas (Burgos Castilla y Leon).
The group only got a maximum lead of 2’20” before it was whittled down to 11 with 35 kilometres to race.
Madrazo and Meier initially made bids for glory before Stannard put in a stronger one. The British road race champion had 45 seconds with 10km to go, but a number of teams were keeping him in check in the peloton.
Stannard was back in the group inside the final two kilometres, and Moreno hit the front with still 300 meters left. Several switchbacks caught out motorbikes ahead in the closing kilometres, though the final sprint was not affected. The Spaniard hung on and would appear to be a major contender for the overall in the five-stage race.
2012 Vuelta a Burgos Stage One (135km):
1 Daniel Moreno (Katusha) 3:01:25
2 Sergio Luis Henao (Sky Procycling)
3 Matti Breschel (Rabobank)
4 Allan Davis (Orica-GreenEdge)
5 Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-BigMat)
6 Fabio Taborre (Acqua & Sapone) at 2 seconds
7 Giovanni Visconti (Movistar)
8 Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli)
9 Johan Chaves Rubio (Colombia-Coldeportes)
10 Danilo Di Luca (Acqua & Sapone)
2012 Vuelta a Burgos Overall Classification:
1 Daniel Moreno (Katusha) 3:01:25
2 Sergio Luis Henao (Sky Procycling)
3 Matti Breschel (Rabobank)
4 Allan Davis (Orica-GreenEdge)
5 Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-BigMat)
6 Fabio Taborre (Acqua & Sapone) at 2 seconds
7 Giovanni Visconti (Movistar)
8 Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli)
9 Johan Chaves Rubio (Colombia-Coldeportes)
10 Danilo Di Luca (Acqua & Sapone)