A fantastic effort in the Queen Stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana saw Pello Bilbao come home in fourth place, followed by Luis Leon Sanchez in 9th.
After a flat opening phase where the pace was extremely high, a group of 11 riders, including our very own Jan Tratnik, began to make headway as we ventured into the category 2 Coll de Rates and then Sa Creueta ascents.
From there, the gap continued to extend from the peloton into the two and half minute mark as we took the climb up Benifallim – but there wasn’t without some riders in the breakaway beginning to drop off and surrender their position.
With 19 km remaining, Tratnik took position as sole leader and for a time was able to fight off any potential counter attacks that came his way as he continued his ascent towards Tibi.
This year’s race had included a spectacular off-road gravel finish that the riders would need to navigate in the final 3km – named Alto Antenas del Maigmó Tibi.
Unfortunately for Jan Tratnik this was where he surrendered his lead to Valverde and company but on reflection, Tratnik was pleased with how this performance bodes for the rest of the season: “Normally today wasn’t a plan to go in the breakaway, but after 50km of attacks I saw that many teams wanted to be part of the breakaway, so we needed to be careful [in order to] not miss the big group.
Then a group of 10 guys [broke away] and I joined, because I thought it would be better that we represent at the front. I felt good all day, but the peloton didn’t give us a lot of advantage, so I decided to attack on the second last climb and try to give it my all. Then I was alone and just fighting with myself, I knew the climb already, so I know that last one is very steep. Unfortunately when the step sections started, I simply didn’t have energy left in my legs to fight for victory.”
Following Valverde out in front was Pello Bilbao who managed to finish 29 seconds behind in fourth place, showcasing an impressive effort as the gradient and surface toughened for every rider out there.
