Jaén has welcomed the second stage of Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN, on a day that coincided with Andalusia Day and has received a large number of people to see what the first arrival in the city of Jaén was like. The departure from the Cathedral of Jaén took the runners on a continuous uphill course down the slope of Jabalcuz to finish in El Pincho at 1,367 meters above sea level, and the subsequent descent to the Olivo Arena in Jaén, where the finish line was located. The day has been marked by the snow that resisted at the highest level of the day in one of the most emblematic peaks of Jaén, El Pincho, unusual images in recent editions.
In the first kilometers of the stage, the couple formed by the European champion Fabian Rabensteiner and Wout Alleman (Wilier Pirelli Factory) took the lead and managed to open up a margin that has not been reduced until the finish line, and it has helped them to achieve victory after trying it in the previous stage, with which their change in strategy It has worked from the beginning: “Today we decided to attack from the start because yesterday we had bad luck with the weather conditions, and we lost time. We both felt very good and we managed to get a good advantage”.
Behind him a chasing group has formed that has rolled together throughout the stage. The accumulated snow and ice at the top of El Pincho have meant that the runners had to be careful on the descent. Tiago Ferreira and Andreas Miltiadis (DMT-Blackjack) who have achieved a second position, have led this group to the finish line, arriving more than 2 minutes behind the winners of the stage, followed by the Italians Francesco Failli and Riccardo Chiarini (Taddei Factory Team) who have completed the podium. for his part Michal Paluta and Pawel Bernas (JBG2 Team), winners of the first stage and current leaders, they keep the harvested jersey of the general.
In the female category, the leaders, Janina Wüst and Txell Figueras (BUFF®-Megamo Team) set out with the aim of maintaining the overall lead, but on the climb to El Pincho, the Lithuanian Katazina Sosna and the swiss Irina Luetzelschwab (Team Torpado BULLS Swiss) took advantage of the climb to overtake them and gain enough distance to reach the finish line and win the stage. “It has been a fast stage. After the first 20 kilometers we took the lead and led the entire race. It was very nice because it was snowy at the top and the temperature was low, but the terrain was fine, and there was no risk on the descent”. Despite not winning the stage, Janina Wüst and Txell Figueras (BUFF®-Megamo Team) maintain the overall lead. The podium for the stage in the Elite UCI Women’s category was completed by Lejla Njemcevic and Stefanie Dohrn (Canyon-Allebike) in second position, and the current overall leaders in third.
Tomorrow, Jaén will host the third stage in an unprecedented route so far in Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN. The departure will again be from the Cathedral of Jaén, but this time it will go in the direction of Los Villares, where the sea of olive trees typical of Jaén will stand out. Afterwards, the stage will pass through Las Cimbras, the Cañada de las Hazadillas and the slope of Cerro de San Cristóbal before returning to the Olivo Arena in Jaén.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION – MALE UCI ELITE CATEGORY
1st Michal Paluta – Pawel Bernas JBG2 TEAM 04:44:28
2nd Fabian Rabensteiner – Wout German WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 04:44:47
3rd Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 04:45:37
STAGE CLASSIFICATION – WOMEN UCI ELITE CATEGORY
1st Txell Figueras – Janina Wüst BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 05:48:01
2nd Katazina Sosna – Irina Luetzelschwab TEAM TORPADO BULLS SWISS 05:48:19
3rd Lejla Njemcevic – Stefanie Dohrn CANYON ALLEBIKE 05:49:38