15/08/2023

Juan Sebastián Molano romps to comfortable sprint win on opening stage of the 2023 Vuelta a Burgos

UAE Team Emirates' Juan Sebastián Molano has prevailed in an opening stage bunch sprint to take the early lead at the 2023 Vuelta a Burgos.

The race starts off in the city of Burgos itself, where the first stage will end. Not a pan-flat day by any chance but the best and likely only opportunity for the fast men in this race. This year the riders do not go up to the cathedral but instead have a flat finish in the city centre.

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Five riders went up the road, immediately forming the breakaway. Ángel Fuentes (Burgos-BH), Josu Etxeberria (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), Xabier Berasategi (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Mattia Bais (EOLO-Kometa) and Jose Maria Garcia (Electro Hiper Europa).

With 30km to go though, their advantage over the peloton has dropped to just 50 seconds with a bunch sprint seemingly inevitable.

Bais was the last remaining rider from the break to hold out before capture but with 13km to go, he too had been swallowed up.

With just over 8km to go though, Lennard Kamna took advantage of a roundabout to launch a solo move off the front of the peloton.

It wasn't to be for the BORA - hansgrohe man though, Kamna being reeled in with just over 3km to go.

From there it was as had been expected at the start of the day, all about the sprint. In the end, it was Juan Sebastián Molano romping to a comfortable victory ahead of Ivan Garcia Cortina and Edoardo Affini.