Koldo close

Koldo once again did well to claim a good, yet slightly annoying, 2nd place in the last stage of the Mallorca Challenge, formally known as the Trofeo Magaluf-Palmanova. This time around he was bested by Greipel, hardly something to be ashamed of. The stage was quite hilly, so he did very well to be there at the end. The team as a whole actually did very well. Right from the start they assumed control of the bunch alongside Greipel's HTC team. And though attacks went left, right and center for the duration of the stage, they managed to keep it together and set Koldo up for the sprint. That's the way to do it. Rubén also showed he can mix it with the sprinters, grabbing a fine 9th place. Iván came in 10 seconds adrift in 22nd place, while Beñat arrived a further 21 seconds back, and Iñaki ended up a full 4:24 down. Mikel, Aitor, Alán, JJ and Sergio all abandoned after doing their fair share of pace-setting on the front.

Orbea didn't really cut it today, Mikel Landa and Jon Izagirre being their best, and only, finishers in 42nd and 44th place respectively, both 17 seconds down. The team, and Mikel and Jon in particular, has had a really good showing in the race as a whole though, and can be pleased with themselves.