Team News: Win for Roelandts in Valenciana

Jürgen Roelandts (BMC) Sprints to victory on the final day of racing at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

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Team News: Win for Roelandts in Valenciana

Jürgen Roelandts sprinted to victory on the fifth and final stage of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana following a strong day of racing from BMC Racing Team.

Despite the wet weather, it was a fast start to the final day of racing in Spain with a strong six-rider group, including Stefan Küng, jumping off the front of the peloton early and opening up an advantage over the opening 10km, of the 135.2km course. However, behind the breakaway, the main bunch was keen to keep control of proceedings, and consequently, after peaking at 1’23” after 32km of racing, the gap to the leaders was pulled back to around the one-minute mark.
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Heading into the second half of the stage, and with a potential bunch sprint up for grabs, the peloton picked up the pace and the gap to Küng and the rest of the breakaway began to fall before, with 40km to go, just 30 seconds separated the two groups. On the descent of the day’s only categorized climb, Küng attacked to begin an impressive solo effort at the front of the race, which saw him head into the final 20km still holding onto an advantage of around 20 seconds.

While Küng continued to dig deep up ahead, the peloton began a frantic chase with riders stretched out along the road as the race was eventually pulled back together and the stage was set for a fast and furious finale. With four sharp turns to navigate before the final run into the line, it was a battle for position in the bunch but, after being protected by his BMC Racing Team teammates, Roelandts was in a perfect position when the finish line came into view.

As the sprint was launched, Roelandts’ impressive turn of speed saw him power towards the line before punching the air with delight after sealing victory in Valencia. Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana also proved to be a strong season opener for Kilian Frankiny, with the 24-year old crossing the line safely in the main bunch on stage 5 to secure ninth overall on the General Classification as well as the final white jersey of the week as the winner of the Best Young Rider Classification.
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The Winner’s Interview

Congratulations, Jürgen. How do you feel after today’s victory? “It’s been a while since I have had a victory. I’ve moved teams, and I had an operation in the past six months, and this is my first race back. I proved today that I have worked hard and I was even able to take this victory. It’s amazing for me. I think I made all the right choices over the last six months and it all came together today.”

This was your first race with BMC Racing Team, what are your goals looking ahead to the rest of the season? “My main goals will be the Classics with Greg Van Avermaet. I know he is the number one there. I knew I would get to have opportunities with the team at races like this to go for the sprints. It’s a lot of fun to win for myself again. It’s been three years, so I am super happy.”

Other Quotes

Stefan Küng: “It was a pretty grim day with a lot of rain and cold temperatures at the beginning of the stage. My plan today was to go in the breakaway, and I was able to do that.

We had a good group of six riders in front. It was obvious that the bunch wasn’t going to let us get too far away, so we were always sitting around one minute ahead. Then, when we got closer to the climb, the bunch got to within 30 seconds. That’s when the attacks started within the breakaway itself, and David De La Cruz (Team Sky) came from the bunch behind.

On the descent, I passed him, and suddenly after a technical part, I looked back, and I was alone. I knew that if I waited for the others, we would get caught pretty quickly, so I just gave it a go and tried to do my best. On a parcours like today, with the highways, it’s hard to hold off the whole bunch. It is never easy to get into a breakaway, so I was fully committed until the end, and it was a good training ride.”

“When I crossed the line, I saw that Jürgen had won and that meant that my day wasn’t all for nothing. Our guys could take it relatively calm in the bunch and set him up perfectly. I am really happy for him. He is a good fit for the team, and I think we will have a lot of fun and success together.”

 

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