GP Miguel Indurain sees Arkéa rack up more points as Warren Barguil emerges victorious

Warren Barguil is prepared for the Ardennes classics it seems, as he flew into the win at the GP Miguel Indurain after resisting the attacks that threatened the final kilometers of the race, and taking the win in the final sprint.

It was a rough day, in which several climbs were cut from the route after tough conditions at the start which has seen snowing. It was not an isolated situation, as the riders faced snow until as late as 25 kilometers to go. From sun to snow, back to sun, the traditional Basque weather made itself felt.

The race was fairly controlled until 14 kilometers to go, where a set of moves have seen a group containing Pello Bilbao, Jefferson Cepeda, Aleksandr Vlasov, Victor Lafay and Gorka Izagirre go up the road. With collaboration strong and many teams represented it seemed like a decisive move as they went on a slightly uphill section, however the mainly UAE-led peloton reeled them back with 2 kilometers to go at the base of the final sharp hilltop into the Alto Ibarria.

Pierre Latour and Marc Hirschi attacked the short explosive ascent and went over the summit with 1.5 kilometers to go with a small gap. The very fast and technical descent back into the town center saw some riders get back to the front and into the final few hundred meters. It was a chaotic sprint, with Vuillermoz launching first, and many riders came around in the final meters but it was Warren Barguil who timed his move perfectly and took his second win of the season, beating Aleksandr Vlasov and Simon Clarke at the finish.

Arkéa - Samsic have been gathering many points this season eyeing a promotion to World Tour level, and the Frenchman has taken another 200 points towards the team's tally.