Aitor Hernández beats the unbeatable

Aitor Hernández pulled off one of the rides of his short cyclo-cross life by beating Spain's finest rider, Egoitz Murgoitio, en route to the win in Saturday's Superprestigio round in Llodio.

The three pre-race favourites, the aforementioned duo and the on-fire Javier Ruíz de Larrinaga, imposed their superiority and distanced the rest early on. As rain hit the circuit with some force mid-way through, though, Murgoitio, who'd done most of the work up until that point, soon found himself on the back foot as the former Euskaltel rider took advantage of the ever-muddier course. Hernández distanced the Hirumet-Taldea rider and Larrinaga on the penultimate round, according to BiciCiclismo, and held on by 13 seconds to cement his position at the top of the overall Superprestigio rankings. Saturday's win marks Hernández's third of the campaign.

Larrinaga took the last spot on the podium only five seconds behind Murgoitio, while Isaac Suárez was best of the rest in fourth, more than a minute and a half in arrears. Aketza Peña, another former Euskaltel man of course, was on one of his best days so far this season, claiming fifth.

The highly-promising Jonathan Lastra, who's debuted on the international circuit this season, took an impressive sixth, and thus won the sub-23 classification. En Bici-Stevens' Ismael Félix Barba took second in that particular competition by placing eighth.

Results, Llodio (for full results click here):

1. Aitor Hernández (Ermua-Orbea), 1:01:26
2. Egoitz Murgoitio (Hirumet-Taldea), 0:13
3. Javier Ruíz de Larrinaga (MMR-Spiuk), 0:18
4. Isaac Suárez (Bio Racer - Caravanas Erandio), 1:35
5. Aketza Peña (Zallako Belodromo), 1:55
6. Jonathan Lastra (Hirumet-Taldea), 2:36 - Winner sub-23
7. Erlantz Uriarte (Opel Ibaigane), 2:48
8. Ismael Félix Barba (En Bici - Stevens), 3:15
9. Asier Arregi (Bizikleta.com), 3:20
10. José Antonio Díez Arriola (Bikezona.com), 4:11

Orbea Centeno's Roció Gamonal racked up yet another win among the women, while Alicia González grabbed the juniors' race. Among the junior men, Diego Pablo Sevilla bested Alvaro Carral and Alex Aranburu. 

Photo: Iñaki Azanza