Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE) continued his love affair with the Vuelta al Pais Vasco when he took what looked like an easy sprint win on the first stage of the Basque race. The Australian was one of only a select few sprinters to have survived the tough Alto del Vivero in the finale and he easily outsprinted Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) to win the stage and grab the first leader’s jersey in the race.

 

Being a fast finisher and a great climber, Michael Matthews is perfectly suited to the Vuelta al Pais Vasco which always features prominently on his race schedule. Last year he won the stage to Vitoria-Gasteiz and this year he travelled to the Basque Country with the goal of adding another stage win to his palmares.

 

His big target was probably the second stage which has the same finish as the stage he won last year but already in today’s much harder opener, the Australian managed to open his account. With his combination of great climbing legs and a fast sprint, he managed to survive the tough Alto del Vivero and finding himself in a group of mainly GC riders he seemed to be at ease when he beat Michal Kwiatkowski and Ilnur Zakarin in the sprint from a 30-35 rider peloton.

 

Matthews had several Orica-GreenEDGE teammates in the group but they failed to make a real lead-out for the fast man. Instead, the Australian handled the high-speed downhill finale on his own when they sped towards the finish in Bilbao.

 

With 3km to go, it became apparent that Matthews had survived the climb when the Australian team reacted promptly to an attack from Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep). However, they disappeared from the front when Oliver Zaugg (Tinkoff-Saxo) took off and the Swiss managed to open a nice little gap.

 

BMC came to the fore to bring the Tinkoff-Saxo rider back but it was Lotto Soudal that looked like the most organized team. Cofidis responded quickly when Philippe Gilbert (BMC) attacked with 1.5km to go as they had Julien Simon for the sprint and from there the Belgian team kicked into action.

 

Tim Wellens led the peloton under the flamme rouge with his teammate Tony Gallopin on his wheel but the Frenchman had to react quickly when Martin powered past him. He moved into third position behind Martin and Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEDGE), followed by Michal Kwiatkowski, Matthews and Ilnur Zakarin.

 

Gallopin was the first to launch his sprint but just in the same moment, Matthews went full gas. The Australian was clearly the fastest and easily passed his rivals, with Kwiatkowski clinging onto his wheel to roll across the line in second ahead of Zakarin.

 

With the win, Matthews also takes the first leader’s jersey in the race but with no bonus seconds, several riders are equal on time with the race leader. He will wear the yellow jersey in tomorrow’s second stage which includes a total of 6 climbs but the well-known finale in Vitoria-Gasteiz usually comes down to a sprint finish where Matthews will be the obvious favourite.

 

A hilly opener

The 2015 Vuelta al Pais Vasco kicked off with a 162.7km stage that started and finished in Bilbao. After a mostly flat first half, the riders reached the hilly finale before they went up the category 3 Alto de Morga and the category 2 Alto del Vivero. Having returned to Bilbao, they ended the race by doing a loop around the city which saw them tackle the Alto del Vivero (4.3km, 8.6%) from another, harder side before they reached the final 13.5km that were downhill until the riders hit the 1.5km flat stretch to the finish.

 

The race is famously known for its rainy conditions but the riders had great weather when they left Bilbao for the opening leg of the race. Apparently, they were intent of getting the race off to a slow start as it didn’t take many attacks for the early break to be formed.

 

A trio take off

When the elastic had snapped, Omar Fraile (Caja Rural), Brian Bulgac (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) had got a gap and after just 7km of racing, they were already 3 minutes ahead. 9km later it was 5.55 and it reached a maximum of 7.10 before the peloton reacted.

 

Movistar took control of the peloton and they kept the gap stable at around 6.30 for a few kilometres, with Gorka Izagirre and Igor Anton doing the hard work. As they started to accelerate, the advantage came down and at the 50km mark, it had been reduced to 5.15.

 

Trek start to chase

Trek started to work with Anton and Izagirre and they brought the gap down to 3.50 with 83km to go. As they again disappeared from the front, it went back out to 4.00 and for some time Anton and Izagirre kept it stable around 3.30.

 

With 65km to go, the riders hit the firs climb of the day where Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier (FDJ) and Bert Jan Lindeman (LottoNL-Jumbo) crashed. Unfortunately, the former was forced to abandon.

 

Turgis wins the sprint

The KOM sprint had been moved and so the escapees sprinted at the wrong time when Turgis held off Bulgac and Fraile. A few kilometres later, they reached the actual sprint and here Turgis was again the fastest, leading Fraile and Bulgac across the line.

 

The fight for position in the peloton had now started and the gap had come down to 3.10 but it was still Izagirre and Anton setting the pace. Meanwhile, Jose Serpa (Lampre-Merida) and Caleb Fairly (Giant-Alpecin) were the next riders to go down in a small crash.

 

Fraile gets clear

As they hit the second climb, Fraile accelerated and Bulgac was distanced immediately. 1km from the top, he upped the pace a further notch and now Turgis also lost contact.

 

Fraile crested the summit with a 45-second advantage over Turgis while Bulgac followed at 1.45. In the peloton, everybody wanted to be in a good position for the descent and it was Martin who won the battle to lead them across the line at the top.

 

A fight for position

Anton and Izagirre went back to work on the descent and with 35km to go, they had brought Bulgac back. The gap was now down to 2.10 but Fraile did a great job to keep it stable around that mark.

 

Fraile won the first intermediate sprint with 29km to go and Turgis just managed to take second ahead of Anton before he was brought back. Now the fight for position was very intense and Izagirre and Anton soon disappeared from the front as Katusha, Lampre-Merida and Sky lined up their trains.

 

The gap melts away

Fraile also won the second intermediate sprint with 19km to go but the fight in the peloton had brought his advantage down to 40 seconds. Matteo Bono and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) led the peloton across the line before they hit the climb.

 

Orica-GreenEDGE briefly hit the front before Jonathan Castroviejo took over for Movistar. Meanwhile, the peloton started to splinter.

 

Fraile is caught

With 17km to go, Fraile was brought back and this opened the door for Wellens, Julian Arredondo (Trek) and Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r) to attack. The latter briefly distanced his companions before the trio came back together.

 

Castroveijo was still setting the pace for Movistar before David Lopez (Sky) and a Lampre-Merida rider bridged the gap to the leaders. That spelled the end for the break and just in that moment, Arredondo had to stop due to a chain problem.

 

Henao gets clear

Lopez started to set the tempo for Sky before Rein Taaramae (Astana) attacked. He was brought back by Ion Izagirre (Movistar) before Davide Formolo took over for Cannondale-Garmin.

 

Taaramae tried again and was joined by Izagirre but it all came back together. This opened the door for Sergio Henao (Sky) to make a move and he got a promising gap.

 

Lots of attacks

Astana led the chase before Movistar took over with Benat Intxausti and just Henao reached the summit, Mikel Landa (Astana), Intxausti and the rest of the 30-35 rider peloton had latched onto his wheel. As soon as they started the descent, the attacking started again, with Alberto Losada (Katusha) making the first move before Vasil Kiryienka (Sky) took off.

 

The Belarusian was joined by Izagirre, Losada, Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), and a Cofidis rider but Martin brought it back. The German joined Taaramae in the next attack before he started to ride tempo on the front.

 

While Frank Schleck (Trek) missed a turn and so lost contact with the group, Wellens made new attack. Andrew Talansky (Cannondale) tried to bridge but as Kwiatkowski took over, it came back together. Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE), Sanchez and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) briefly got a gap before Martin made his next move that set the scene for the sprint finish.