Miguel Domínguez tests the peloton in the last kilometres of a stage that was successfully saved

Miguel Domínguez and Balazs Pollner were two of the protagonists of a frenetic first stage of the Challenge Montaña Central de Asturias that was completed at 46 km/h of average and in which they went away in a very grouped way in spite of multiple attempts of escape. Héctor Álvarez (MX de la Uz- Ucta) was the fastest in the mass sprint that finished the first part of the stage. Manuel Sanroma was the first of the EOLO-KOMETA riders at the finish line (12th).

Pollner was involved in the fight for the flying goals of the day, while Domínguez brought a lot of excitement to Thursday with his acceleration in the last five kilometres. The rider from Salamanca took a small lead, but was finally neutralised with a kilometre and a half to go.

“That was the moment to try,” said Domínguez. “We were close, it wasn’t long to go. It was a very fast day, practically everything was flat and for most of the stage we rode in the bunch”. The tone will be different this Friday with the presence of the climb to Carabanzo in the final part of the second stage.

[? Roberto Menéndez / Ciclismo en Asturias]