A breakaway triumphs with a big lead, while Álex Martín and Javi Serrano finish in the top ten

49ª Vuelta a Salamanca
Etapa 1: Castellanos de Moriscos – Sardón de los Frailes (158,6 km)

Breakdowns, punctures, crashes… A crazy Sunday at the start of the Vuelta Ciclista a Salamanca, a start in which the breakaway triumphed, with more than three minutes of advantage over the bunch, and now creates an unpredictable scenario in which many teams will have to go on the attack in the Portillo de Las Batuecas this Monday. Guillermo Thomas Silva won ahead of his Previley teammate Igor Molina. Alex Martín, fifth at 3’31”, and Javi Serrano, seventh at 3’35”, were the first two riders of the U23 structure of the Contador Foundation at the finish line.

Silva, Molina and Fernando Manuel Rodríguez were the members of the breakaway of the day. The peloton let the breakaway grow, the gap grew, perhaps also the information about the differences between the head of the race and the peloton became scarce and in the end the trio consolidated a significant gap, more than ten minutes at 50 kilometres to the finish line, which the reaction of the peloton could only partially reduce. Such was the speed of the work that the main peloton even broke up. At the head of the race came the attacks in the final three kilometres, movements in which the law of numerical superiority prevailed.

📌 #VueltaSalamanca. Triunfo de la escapada en la etapa inaugural con más de tres minutos sobre el pelotón. Muchos pinchazos, caídas y averías, como ésta de @javiserrano_21.
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[📽️ @rafaeldiazjusto] #EOLOKOMETACyclingTeam #EquipoSub23 #FormandoCiclistas pic.twitter.com/wAWGwSOiIP

— FundContadorTeam (@FundContaTeam) September 5, 2021

In the group, where several formations worked and also EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team was involved, the trip was not at all placid. Several important crashes occurred and punctures were also very frequent. Arnau Gilabert was involved in one of the crashes. Likewise the Italian Davide Piganzoli, more worrying from the start in his case because he kissed the ground twice and suffered a heavy blow to one of his collarbones: Davide finished the stage and was feeling better after it. Cyclists, as you know, are made of different stuff.

This Monday comes the queen stage and Álex Martín faces it in fifth place overall, 3’19” behind the leader. The Catalan, in the final part of the first stage, was involved in a move with three other riders that allowed them to finish slightly ahead of the main bunch. A strange start. A complex Sunday. A first day in the German round that will not be easy to forget.