2015 Clasica San Sebastian: Race results, blog

Race Result:

A stunned Adam Yates of Orica – GreenEDGE soloed to a momentous victory at the 2015 Clasica San Sebastian. Even after crossing the finishing line the 22 year-old British climber was not quite able to believe that he had claimed victory.

Technical difficulties with the aeroplane which relays the broadcast signals from the camera motorcycles out on course back to the production truck in San Sebastian would plague this year’s race. As a result the majority of the race would be a mystery to press and viewers alike as live TV images went AWOL.

Just what happened during the final 50 kilometres of the race is largely a mystery. What we do know is that Adam Yates attacked on the decisive final climb and established a time gap of roughly ten seconds over a chase group containing the likes of Philippe Gilbert, Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez and Daniel Martin.

Similar to Alejandro Valverde’s victory in 2014, a daring solo attack would prove the key to victory in 2015 as the riders behind failed to cooperate with each other to close the gap to the lone race leader. Extending his lead to 15 seconds by the finishing line, no one dared sacrifice themselves to catch the young British climber as he rode away to a historic victory.

2015 Clasica San Sebastian – Top 10:
01. Adam Yates (Orica–GreenEDGE)… 5:30:22″
02. Philippe Gilbert (BMC)… +0:15″
03. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)… ST
04. Daniel Moreno (Katusha)… ST
05. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)… ST
06. Bauke Mollema (Trek)… ST
07. Daniel Martin (Cannondale–Garmin)… ST
08. Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx–QuickStep)… ST
09. Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin)… ST
10. Rigoberto Uran (Etixx–QuickStep)… ST

Race Preview:

It is time for the peloton to put the 2015 Tour de France behind them and begin preparing for the Vuelta a Espana, by racing through the beautiful surrounds of San Sebastian. Join The Roar for live updates and commentary of the 2015 Clasica San Sebastian from 11:30pm (AEST).

A hilly, 219-kilometre long parcours that begins and ends in the streets of San Sebastian, the riders climb no less than six categorised climbs. Anyone who doesn’t have their climbing legs with them will quickly find themselves out of contention.

Favouring puncheurs and explosive climbers, the second category Bordako Tontorra should play a decisive role in determining today’s victor.

Just 2.5 kilometres long, an average gradient of nine per cent hides the true severity of the ascent. Hiding gradients of between a minimum of 7.5 per cent and a maximum 20 per cent, the final 800 metres of the climb will cause massive splits.

With only seven kilometres, four of those downhill and the other three flat, remaining to the finishing line in San Sebastian, anything goes. The race could be decided by a sprint between a select group on the finishing straight or won by a daring solo attack.

Indecision or lack of cooperation among the favourites can prove costly if someone attacks during the final seven kilometres, as Alejandro Valverde displayed last year. Being the strongest rider is no guarantee of success, the race is as much about tactical nous as strength.

Defending champion Valverde heads into the race as the favourite, and Movistar have brought a strong team to support the Spaniard’s ambitions of securing back-to-back victories. However, lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce will be a number of strong and opportunistic rivals.

If you are feeling a little bold then look out for Adam or Simon Yates of Orica-GreenEDGE, Julian Alaphilippe of Etixx-Quick Step, and Rui Costa of Lampre-Merida. I fancy one of the Yates twins to at least finish within the top five, after Adam tragically missed out on a potential podium finish last year due to crashing on the descent.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments and join us from 11:30pm (AEST) for live updates, commentary and a chat as we follow the 2015 Clasica San Sebastian.