Christophe Laporte starts season with sprint win at Ruta del Sol
Christophe Laporte has made a strong start to his season. On his first race day of the year, the Frenchman took the opening stage of the Ruta del Sol. After a tough race, it ultimately came down to a sprint in the streets of Pizarra, where Laporte proved to be the fastest. He beat Bastien Tronchon and Ben Oliver.
Taking it easy in the race was not an option at this Ruta del Sol. The first stage of the race began with the Puerto del Madroño, a climb of twenty kilometers at an almost five percent average gradient. That was the toughest obstacle out of the way right from the start. There were two more categorized climbs, but they were not very difficult. The route mainly descended towards the finish in Pizarra.
Campenaerts on the attack
Victor Campenaerts clearly had no fear of the Puerto del Madroño. Even before the climb was fully underway, the Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike launched an attack. He would also be the first over the summit, but that did not mean the riders behind took it easy. Campenaerts was closely marked and was caught shortly after the top.
A new breakaway of seven riders then formed, without big names. However, Dylan Vandenstorme (Flanders-Baloise) was once again a Belgian at the front. An ideal scenario for the sprinter teams, but unfortunately for them, new developments quickly unfolded. UAE Emirates XRG pushed the pace hard on one of the next climbs, causing a group of around twenty riders to break away and ride back up to the original escapees.
Still a sprint in the end
After some attacks back and forth, the leading group split into two parts. At the front – still including Vandenstorme – remained the following riders Jan Christen, Iván Romeo, Quinten Hermans, Luke Tuckwell, Josh Burnett, Iván Cobo, Axel Zingle, and Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda. Cepeda then literally dropped off, leaving nine leaders to start the final fifty kilometers.
Fifteen kilometers later, the rest of the – albeit reduced – peloton rejoined. There were a few more attempts to break away, but as it became clear no one would get away, the focus shifted. The teams started preparing for a bunch sprint.
Laporte seals the deal
Entering the final kilometer, Tim Wellens stretched the peloton into a line. Then the men from Visma | Lease a Bike took over, but their designated finisher Christophe Laporte – who had also been active earlier in the stage – was already at the front early on. He stayed composed, dropped back briefly, slotted back in, and then launched at just the right moment. He sprinted convincingly to the win.
With Laporte’s victory, Visma | Lease a Bike’s win tally for 2026 rises to two. Earlier, Matthew Brennan had already won a stage at the Santos Tour Down Under.
