"We rode the perfect race" - INEOS impress and Michal Kwiatkowski takes great win as Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior
Cycling
INEOS Grenadiers have struggled throughout the past seasons as UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Team Visma | Lease a Bike have taken up the top of cycling. However this Monday at the Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior the tables were turned and the British team took a very strong win, with plenty riders in the first groups of the race that have allowed Michal Kwiatkowski taking the win.
“The last two weeks I trained hard in Mallorca, while my family stayed in Poland. It shows how much I have to sacrifice. This is very important to me. that I am able to win races again," the former World Champion said in a post-race interview, after showing his best legs in a long time. When he was younger, Kwiatkowski was a specialist in the hilly one-day races and won many.
Today, he showed a glimpse of his former self, but in a stronger that races a whole gear faster. The veteran moved off the front in one of the first gravel sectors together with Brandon McNulty and with this, formed the day's winning move.
“You always have to believe that something is possible. The pace was really high from the second gravel section onwards. I didn't expect that," Kwiatkowski continued. "That left a small elite group. We still had a lot of INEOS Grenadiers riders in that first group. We rode the perfect race. In the final, I decided to go along with an attack from McNulty. I'm proud of how we rode as a team.”
With the American having a puncture in the final 15 kilometers, it left the INEOS rider together with breakaway survivor Ibon Ruiz only, but he dropped his rival to take a solo win - his first since the Grand Colombier at the 2023 Tour de France. He also survived the strong pace of the chaser Isaac del Toro, who led a defeated UAE team home.
"I’ve had a few difficult months. I had a back injury last year and couldn’t race for a very long time. I returned to competition in January. My condition was already quite good there, but not quite good enough to win". With this form, Kwiatkowski will be a serious contender for a result at the upcoming Vuelta a Andalucia which starts in only two days.
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You love to see it! 😍
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) February 17, 2025
A sensational ride from @kwiato at #ClasicaJaen 🙌 pic.twitter.com/jOSENKyqx3
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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