The Vuelta a Murcia was won by Ben O’Connor. The Australian from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale left Tim Wellens behind on the last climb of the day. Jan Tratnik still came in second place, with Wellens finishing in third place on the day.
First part of the flat test
The first part of the Vuelta a Murcia, 198 km long, was quite flat, but in the middle part the cyclists encountered two major difficulties. First the Alto de Aledo (6.5 km at 4.8%), followed by the Alto Collado Bermejo (7.2 km at 7.1%). The final also included the Alto Cresta del Gallo (4.3 km at 6.5%). From the top of that last climb there were still thirteen kilometers to go before arriving in Murcia.
A trail with nine cyclists initially formed and remained together until Collado Bermejo. As the group began to break up, a group of six riders that included Sepp Kuss, Daniel Martinez, Ben O’Connor and Tim Wellens attacked the main peloton and began chasing the leaders. With 85 km still to run, they managed to catch up to the group in front.
Persecution of the leader
A second chasing group, which included notable names such as Rafal Majka, Will Barta, Steff Cras and Sergio Higuita, were somewhat stuck in no man’s land at this point, two minutes behind the leaders and around a minute and a half behind the peloton.
With three of its members in the leading group of 11 cyclists, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team was doing much of the work at the front of the race.
Check out the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at the front of the pack
Fight to the finish line
With crosswinds threatening to do even more damage to the peloton, the leaders still maintained a 1:20 lead entering the final 50km.
Ben O’Connor and Tim Wellens then decided that with just over 40km to go, they had had enough of being in a group, and clearly attacked the breakaway, quickly building their lead to over half a minute.
When they reached the last climb of the day, Alto Cresta del Gallo, they had a 1:35 lead over the peloton.
O’Connor’s final attack
Of the two, O’Connor is the better known climber and with just over 13km to go, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale cyclist made use of his climbing skills, attacking Wellens and advancing solo. Meanwhile, Jan Tratnik of the chasing group was doing his best to close the gap.
As O’Connor began the descent to the finish line, he had about a 12-second lead over Wellens, with Tratnik chasing at 40 seconds.
On the descent and then the flat finish, there was simply no way to catch O’Connor despite the chasers’ best efforts, allowing the Australian to taste victory. In the race behind, Tratnik prevailed over Wellens to take second place.
Watch the arrival
Check out the results of the Vuelta a Murcia 2024
