Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2018: Van Poppel takes 1st stage and leaders jersey

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2018: Van Poppel takes 1st stage and leader’s jersey

Stage 1 in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana is mostly played out on flat to rolling roads. The route takes in one climb that's crested with 100 kilometres remaining, yet the race boils down to a bunch sprint. Danny van Poppel powers to an impressive win ahead of Luka Mezgec, taking the first leader's jersey while he is at it.. (Slideshow route/profile)

Results 1st stage 2018 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

1. Danny van Poppel (nld)
2. Luka Mezgec (slo) s.t.
3. Jürgen Roelandts (bel) s.t.
4. Daniel McLay (gbr) s.t.
5. Clément Venturini (fra) s.t.
6. Hugo Hofstetter (fra) s.t.
7. Michal Kwiatkowski (pol) s.t.
8. Oliver Naesen (bel) s.t.
9. Marco Canolo (ita) s.t.
10. Angélo Tulik (fra) s.t.

GC after the 1st stage
1. Danny van Poppel (nld)
2. Luka Mezgec (slo) + 0.04
3. Jürgen Roelandts (bel) + 0.06
4. Daniel McLay (gbr) + 0.10
5. Clément Venturini (fra) s.t.
6. Hugo Hofstetter (fra) s.t.
7. Michal Kwiatkowski(pol) s.t.
8. Oliver Naesen (bel) s.t.
9. Marco Canolo (ita) s.t.
10.Angélo Tulik (fra) s.t.

Race report
Attacks are flying from the start, yet it takes more than 10 kms for the break of the day to get clear. Fransisco Mancebo, Paul Ourselin, José Díaz Gallego and Ibai Salas race to a maximum lead of 5 minutes before it goes down to around 3 minutes when hitting La Bandereta, which is the only climb of the day.

Little by little the lead goes further down and with 18 kms remaining the attackers are gobbled up.

With 3 kms to go Gianni Moscon opens up a gap, but he is caught in the last km by the chasing LottoNl squad. Their sprinter Danny van Poppel doesn’t linger. He goes from a long way out and while Luka Mezgec does his best to overhaul him, the Dutchman powers to the win.