Cyclingflash
Impressive Tim Wellens wins after solo of more than fifty kilometers in Clásica Jaén

Impressive Tim Wellens wins after solo of more than fifty kilometers in Clásica Jaén

And that marks the twelfth win of the season: UAE Emirates XRG not only won the opening stage of the UAE Tour on Monday but also claimed victory in the fifth edition of the Clásica Jaén. In the Spanish one-day race featuring plenty of gravel roads, Tim Wellens triumphed after an impressive solo effort of over fifty kilometers. Tom Pidcock took second place, Jan Christen finished third.

In the lead-up to the Flemish opening weekend—with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne—the cycling events follow one another at a rapid pace. On Monday, riders once again kicked up dust on Spanish gravel roads during the Clásica Jaén. The organizers of this one-day race presented a strong lineup including several top contenders, such as Tom Pidcock, Tim Wellens, Maxim Van Gils, and Matej Mohoric.

These heavy hitters prepared for a race comparable to Strade Bianche, over a challenging 169-kilometer course featuring no less than 33 kilometers of unpaved roads. Additionally, the UCI 1.1 one-day race included a total of 2,600 meters of elevation gain.

Big names stir things up but find no space
In a highly entertaining and fiercely contested opening phase, riders launched attack after attack, but breaking clear from the peloton proved difficult. It wasn’t until about seventy kilometers in that a sizable lead group of twelve riders formed, including some big names. Volta a Murcia winner Marc Soler, Pello Bilbao, Maxim Van Gils, and Lukáš Kubiš soon got involved in the attacking debates.

This breakaway, however, was short-lived, but that didn’t stop other riders from keeping their powder dry until the final showdown. With just over sixty kilometers remaining, Tim Wellens saw a perfect moment to slip away. Mark Donovan spotted the danger and managed to latch onto his wheel. The significantly thinned peloton let them go, allowing their lead to stretch to half a minute.

Wellens launches an ambitious solo
On the next gravel sector of Mar de Olivos, an unexpected development unfolded. It was Donovan who initially slipped away from the stronger-seeming Wellens, but the latter stayed calm, riding at his own pace to catch back up to his British companion. Then, Wellens immediately dropped the exhausted Donovan. This marked the start of a long and, above all, daring solo move. Wellens still had over fifty kilometers to cover at that point.

A hopeless mission, one might think, especially as Pinarello-Q36.5 was driving the peloton hard at the front. The Swiss team aimed to set up their leader Tom Pidcock, but his domestiques couldn’t close any gap on the incredibly strong Wellens. In fact, the lone escapee kept extending his advantage. With forty kilometers to go, the gap had grown to well over a minute and a half.

One-man show
Something had to give on the brutally tough Santa Eulalia sector, featuring gradients up to nearly 20%. The chasing group also splintered on the slopes of this unpaved climb. Pidcock, Gianni Vermeersch, Jan Christen, and Quinten Hermans crested slightly ahead, but thanks to the punctilious work of Christen (riding in support of Wellens), the dropped riders caught back on.

In the following kilometers, collaboration was patchy at best, which played perfectly into Wellens’ hands. The Belgian continued to lead, with a lead of over a minute in a solo reminiscent of his winning attack in last year’s Tour de France. Wellens had one nerve-wracking moment—he nearly crashed on one of the gravel sectors—but otherwise he rode flawlessly toward a memorable victory.

No matter what Pidcock and Van Gils tried in the chase, Wellens refused to be reeled back in. The 34-year-old all-rounder lost a bit of time on the final gravel sector and in the closing kilometers but held on and thus followed in the footsteps of his teammate Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian had already won this still young Spanish one-day race three years earlier.

Watch Tim Wellens’ finish here:

In the sprint for the remaining podium places, Pidcock came out on top, but his sprint was marred by a heavy crash involving Van Gils. The Belgian collided with Christen—who drifted from his line—and went down at high speed.