Sebastian Molano (Manzana) proved that he deserves to return to the professional peloton when he surprisingly beat Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) in the uphill sprint on the second and final stage of the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid. After the stage had been shortened due to torrential rain, the Colombian held off the Spaniard in the final dash to the line but second place was enough for Lobato to win the race overall, with Jesus Herrada making it a 1-2 for Movistar.

We have gathered a few reactions.

Juan Jose Lobato: My teammate maybe cost me another stage win

Awful weather - drizzling rain combined with hailstorm at times, which forced organizers to shorten the race beforehand, taking the final distance to just 70km (14 laps) or the 95km initially scheduled - did not stop Juanjo Lobato and Jesús Herrada (Movistar Team) from claiming a magnificent one-two GC finish in the 29th Vuelta Ciclista a la Comunidad de Madrid. A victory in which their six team-mates were key to succeed.

Consistent, strong pacing from Ventoso, Soler, Arcas, Pedrero, Fernández and Gorka Izagirre always kept the day's original, nine-man break under control and also the late attempt by Diego Rubio (CJR). Colombian Juan Sebastián Molano (POS) eventually anticipated Lobato (2nd) and Herrada (4th) in the uphill sprint in La Vaguada, even though both clinched their overall goal as they increased the victory tally of the Movistar Team to 20, bringing Lobato his first stage race triumph as a pro in the process.

Juanjo Lobato said: 

"It's a victory I want to dedicate to my son, José - it's the first stage race win of my career and I couldn't forget him , and especially the team, whose support today was incredible - just like yesterday. Still, cold and rain didn't allow us to enjoy this success as much as we'd have liked to. Then again, the race was overall calm for us today: we always kept the breakaway under control - not too many riders in it, no threats for the GC - before picking up the pace with four or five laps to go, in order to prevent the attacks.

"That pace in the final lap by Gorka might have been the reason I didn't win: to make sure that no one could search for an acceleration, he set a bit too much of a rhythm for me - maybe it was just the hard conditions, which left me a bit blocked , and that made me not being able to follow Molano's wheel when he sprinted. All in all, I can't really blame him; actually, I'm all grateful for what he did yesterday.

“Ever since I joined the Movistar Team three years ago, I've always been contending GCs in not-to-hard races like Wallonie, Dubai, even La Sarthe this season... The prize came here in Madrid and I hope I can keep performing like that in the future."

Strong Caja Rural team laments near-miss in Madrid

Although the field left no room for a surprise, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA again demonstrated its combativeness and strength as a team. They had four riders in the top ten overall: Fabricio Ferrari 5th, Sergio Pardilla 7th, David Arroyo 8th and Hugh Carthy 9th. The Brit was also the best young rider.

On a day marked by rain and wind, the protagonist was Diego Rubio who was in the break of the day. With four laps to go, the Spaniard went away alone. He was caught just before the start of the final lap.

David Arroyo finished in tenth place.

Diego Rubio said: 

"We had to join the break and be a protagonist. It was not very big, but there were eager riders and behind the cold could take its toll. I went full gas in the last twenty kilometers and got about thirty seconds, but it was very complicated. Still, I had to try.”

Manager Eugenio Goikoetxea added:

"The team was not bad and we have been fighting for several classifications. The bad thing was the fault of Jonathan Lastra in the last kilometer that prevented us from winning the teams classification and stepping onto the podium. Luck also influences cycling, sometimes it rewards us and today we had no such luck. You have to keep fighting. If we continue with this attitude, I am sure that more victories will come.”

Basque teams take surprise teams classification win in Madrid

Euskadi won the teams classification

Manager Jon Odriozola said:

"Today's result is a new proof that we are doing things right. We're going step by step, without wasting time and working hard to compete with the best teams this. This is a very good result for us and reinforces us ahead of the next races.”