Sprint victories for Rosa van Doorn and Hans Becking in the first stage of the Fred.Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike

The Dutch cyclists from Buff-Megamo lead the general classification in the UCI calendar race

Romanian Manuela Muresan, resident in Gran Canaria, and Blas Rivero, first Canary Islanders in the general classification

This Friday the race continues with a timed stage between Parque Sur and Ayagaures

Close victories in the women’s and men’s categories marked the first stage of the Fred.Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike, a race on the UCI calendar in the S2 category. Dutch cyclists from Buff-Megamo, Rosa van Doorn and Hans Becking, claimed victory in an exciting and fast-paced first day, covering 31 kilometers that ended in a sprint at the climb of San Juan Bautista Church in Cercados de Araña. Both take the red leader’s jersey in this event, which in its ninth edition, will continue until this Sunday in the south of Gran Canaria.

The nearly 200 cyclists who started this first stage enjoyed one of the island’s most beautiful routes, including the ascent to Morro de la Yerbahuerto and riding on tracks around the Chira Dam and Pilancones. The women’s stage began with a lead group consisting of Dutch riders Rosa van Doorn and Tessa Kortekaas (Cannondale ISB), and Spaniard Natalia Fischer (Scott Cala Bandida) until the first climb of the day, Morro de Yerbahuerto, where Fischer couldn’t keep up with the two Dutch cyclists. Van Doorn managed to gain a slight advantage of just seconds over her compatriot, but the Cannondale rider caught up with the Buff-Megamo rider after the descent, finishing the stage together, with Van Doorn winning by just three-tenths of a second. The podium was completed by Natalia Fischer, while Romanian resident in Gran Canaria, Manuela Muresan, finished fourth, 4:27 behind the leader.

“The first stage was super fast. On the first climb, I was with Natalia and Tessa. I tried to break away, had a small gap, but then on the flat part, Tessa was super strong and caught me again, enduring my attacks. It was a very nervous stage, but I’m very happy with the win on such a beautiful route,” declared the first overall leader.

Meanwhile, Tessa Kortekaas commented at the finish line that she was “very happy with the feelings from the first stage,” as this second place in a sprint finish against a rival “as explosive as Rosa is like a victory.”

Elite Women’s First Stage and General Classification

1ª	Rosa van Doorn	Buff-Megamo	NED	1:19:02.7
2ª	Tessa Kortekaas	Cannondale ISB	NED	1:19:03.2
3ª	Natalia Fischer	Scott Cala Bandida	ESP	1:21:00.5
4ª	Manuela Muresan	Dinamo Bikesport	RUM	1:23:29.7
5ª	Celina Carpinteiro	Cyclin Team / Município Albufeira	POR	1:30:36.0

 

As in the women’s category, the men’s category was decided in a sprint, also with a win for Buff-Megamo, as Dutchman Hans Becking, the reigning champion, was the strongest against Miguel Muñoz, Enrique Morcillo, and Sergio Mantecón. The four cyclists alternated the race lead to contest the victory at the finish line, where Becking proved the strongest. The first Canarian was Gran Canaria’s Blas Rivero, who finished sixth, just over 1:23 behind the winner.

“The first stage was super short and intense. Fortunately, I roughly remembered the ascent to Morro de Yerbabuerto from last year. The Klimatiza team was going very fast on the climb, where we were a group of three. Then Morci (Enrique Morcillo, teammate) came from behind, which was good for me because I didn’t have to pull the group. Later, in the sprint, I had strength in my legs,” summarized the Buff-Megamo leader.

Elite Men’s First Stage and General Classification

1ª	Hans Becking	Buff-Megamo	NED	1:07:45.1
2ª	Miguel Muñoz	Klimatiza Toteemi	ESP	1:07:45.5
3ª	Enrique Morcillo	Buff-Megamo	ESP	1:07:46.3
4ª	Sergio Mantecón	Scott Cala Bandida	ESP	1:07:47.0
5ª	Luis Ángel Maté	Euskaltel Euskadi	ESP	1:08:55.2

 

In the Master 30 category, the first-place finisher was Brazilian Vanessa Lessa with a time of 1:33:33.7, while for men it was Daniel Santana, clocking in at 1:12:59.3. In Master 40, the first female cyclist was Lourdes Bethencourt, who finished fourth overall with a time of 1:30:09.0, and for men it was Francisco Javier Macías with 1:12:53.7. In Master 50, the first to reach the finish line was Swedish Lena Berndtsson (1:48:08.7), and for men, it was Jorge López with 1:16:10.17.

The Fred.Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike continues this Friday afternoon with the time trial between Parque Sur and Ayagaures, a 23.5-kilometer ascent through the Fataga ravine that will create the first gaps at the top of the general classification.

The Fred.Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike, organized by Arista Eventos, is sponsored by Fred. Olsen Express. It also receives support from the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through the institutions Turismo de Gran Canaria and the Insular Sports Institute, as well as from the Government of the Canary Islands with Islas Canarias Latitud de Vida. The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council and Maspalomas Costa Canaria also provide support. Additionally, the race is backed by companies such as 226ERS, Vivac Aventura, Gobik, Emicela, Pepsi, Aguas de Teror, Lorenzo González Automoción, Gofio La Piña, Sonocom, Provital, and Inetel.