Pelucchi Wins Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos

Last updated : 29 January 2015 By Covsupport News Service

Matteo Pelucchi of IAM Cycling has taken the opening race of the European season.

The 2015 European cycling starts with the four race Challenge Mallorca series and attracted all the major teams including a Great British national team featuring the likes of Olympian Ed Clancy.

The 1.1 race on the UCI European Tour started with the 175km Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos and the likes of Dan Martin, Andrei Greipel, Fabian Cancellera, Alejandro Valverde, Nacer Bouhanni and Theo Bos rolled on a hilly stage which was one for the sprinters.

Alex Kirsch of Cult Energy and Damien Garcia of Norwegian Team Frey Oslo, got away and were five minutes clear after 25km, six minutes after fifty kilometres and then 8.28, before dropping down to seven minutes with ninety kilometres left.

The pair stayed away for a further seventy more kilometres until they were caught.

Sprinters were brought to the fore but with three kilometres to go, there was a crash.

Matteo Pelucchi of IAM Cycling avoided the crash and won the race ahead of Team Sky's Ellia Viviani and Jose Joaquin Rojas of Movistar and followed by Nacer Bouhanni of Cofidis, Danny Van Poppel of Trek Factory Racing, Ray Kreder of Team Roompot, Team Sky's Ben Swift, Andrei Greipel of Lotto Soudel, Bryan Coquard of Europcar and Irishman Sam Bennett of the Bora Argon 18 team.