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26 Feb 2020

Rabensteiner and Galicia take Stage 2 to become the new race leaders

In a stage with four climbs, the two winners each soloed across the finish line

The Italian, Fabian Rabensteiner (Team Trek - Pirelli), has shown us that he came to win the Andalucía Bike Race presented by Caja Rural Jaén by going solo in Stage 2, the first marathon stage. Daniel Geismayr (Team Centurion - Vaude) finished second with Leandre Bouchard (Pivot Cycles - OTE) third in a sprint finish among a group of five chasers. It was the same in the women’s category, where Clàudia Galicia (Megamo Factory Team) set a fierce pace from the start and crossed the finish line alone. Katazina Sosna (Torpado-Südtirol MTB Pro Team) and Eva Lechner (Trinx Factory Team) trailed Galicia by a notable distance.

The second stage of this tenth edition revealed a route of 71.9 kilometers with 2,190 meters of climbing that contained four remarkable climbs and descents located in the Sierra Mágina range. The stage did not disappoint. The racers set a white-hot pace from the start – all of them pointed out the high level of competition at the front, which stretched out the peloton. Once again they got to experience perfect weather and singular singletrack.

The lead group set the pace and soon there were riders of the like of Fabian Rabensteiner, Daniel Geismayr, Leandre Bouchard, Hans Becking (DMT Racing Team By Marconi), Tiago Ferreira (DMT Racing Team By Marconi), and Francesco Failli (AD Cicli Taddei), who was the race leader until today after winning yesterday’s Flash Stage. The front group constantly swapped the lead on the first two climbs and descents until kilometer 40, after the day’s longest climb to Almadén peak located in the Sierra Mágina Natural Park, when Rabensteiner found himself with more to give and attacked, leaving the rest behind.

As if it were a time trial, the Italian did not let up and, although he crashed on the last descent, he soloed to the win at the finish located in the Complejo Deportivo La Salobreja with an almost two-minute lead. This time advantage was enough to award him the leader's jersey. Tiago Ferreria, the three-time race winner who also suffered a crash, arrived at the finish two minutes ahead of the chase group.

In the women's category, the race followed a very similar pattern. The Catalan, Clàudia Galicia, was determined to set her own pace and prove her superiority. A group formed at the start and then got strung out on the first climb. Mariske Strauss (CST Postnl Bafang Mtb Racing Team) and Galicia were in the lead by kilometer 20, but by kilometer 30, the Megamo rider ratcheted up the pace and went in search of the stage – and the overall lead in the general classification. Katazina Sosna and Eva Lechner reached the finish line together after losing contact with Clàudia Galicia. They preferred to sustain their pace, bearing in mind that there are still four marathon stages to go.

 

Stage classification:

 

STAGE 2 - Men

1- Fabian Rabensteiner (Team Trek - Pirelli) 03:01:36

2- Daniel Geismayr (Team Centurion - Vaude) 03:03:33

3- Leandre Bouchard (Pivot Cycles - OTE) 03:03:34

 

Overall ranking

1- Fabian Rabensteiner (Team Trek - Pirelli) 04:03:06

2- Francesco Failli (ASD CICLI TADDEI) 04:04:47

3- Ben Zwiehoff (Team Centurion - Vaude) 04:05:16

Fabian Rabensteiner: "It was a hard stage. On the first climb, we all wanted to be ahead. It was difficult, but I felt very good and looked to be in the top five. On the last part of the longest climb, I was in front and I saw that I had a small gap over the pursuers. That's when I gave it my all and was able to reach the finish line alone. It will be very nice to wear the green jersey. We will see what happens in the next stages.”

 

Stage classification:

STAGE 2 - Women

1- Clàudia Galícia (Megamo Factory Team) 03:35:20

2- Katazina Sosna (Torpado-Südtirol MTB Pro Team) 03:39:41

3- Eva Lechner (Trinx Factory Team) 03:39:41

 

Overall ranking

 

1- Clàudia Galícia (Megamo Factory Team) 04:54:28

2- Eva Lechner (Trinx Factory Team) 04:57:09

3- Lea Davison (USA) Cycling and Team Twenty20) 04:58:36

 

Clàudia Galicia: "I felt good. I started calmly. We were in a group and I saw that I was riding on pace at the climb, and that this could be my stage, so I went for it. It’s true that yesterday I think I controlled myself more than the other racers, but I think it was worth it because today I felt very good. I loved the stage a lot. There are four days left – that’s a long time, and only winning one stage with the girls that are here, I think I could leave satisfied.”

 

Tomorrow’s departure from Andújar

The third stage of the Andalucía Bike Race presented by Caja Rural Jaén will once again serve as a transition day between the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba. It will continue to be one of the Andalusian race’s legendary stages with 69.8 kilometers and 2,119 meters of climbing, and with a route very similar to the one in the last edition.  The stage’s start will pass through the fertile plain of the Guadalquivir River to cross Marmolejo until the Ermita de la Virgen de la Cabeza via La Centera This will lead up to an unforgettable stretch that will be remembered because it’s fun! Racers will enjoy the Caracolillos descent, the El Madroño climb, and the Camino Viejo descent into the finish line.

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