This weekend, Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) won the first stage of the Tour de San Juan (2.Pro) run over 143.9 km around San Juan on Sunday in Argentina. The Irishman won in the sprint ahead of Dane Michael Morkov (Soudal-Quick Step) and Italian Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech). Remco Evenepoel, was competing in his first race of the season, he crossed the line without incident, avoiding a fall in the final where he worked for Fabio Jakobsen who was ultimately unable to sprint.
Remco Evenepoel had a somewhat tricky end to the stage. Upset, he explains: “Preparing for a sprint, everyone knows that, is not thinking and going all out. It’s a shame that the finale took place in such chaos. They must learn from it. The last mile and a half was actually unacceptable. There were still very fast corners where there was gravel inside. The asphalt in the last 200 meters was just not good and that’s exactly where the guys have to sprint at 70 km/h. »
Indeed, the Belgian cyclist took the wrong path in the final sprint: “Suddenly there was an open section and, although we spotted the final, we didn’t know where to ride. The left side seemed like the fastest option, but it ultimately wasn’t. It was quite hectic. People were even crossing the road. I almost hit a woman. It was very dangerous. It’s a shame, because everything was going as planned until then. I was going to drop off Lampie (Editor’s note: Lampaert) in the last kilometer, but things went wrong. This means that Fabio could not sprint. It’s a disappointment, of course, when you have the fastest runner in the world, but he can’t let his legs do the talking. »
On Monday, the second stage will connect Valle Fertil to Jachal on a hilly course of 201.1 km. The 39th edition of the Tour de San Juan ends on Sunday with a 112 km stage around San Juan.