Hernández overcomes Murgoitio at hollowed Igorre

Aitor Hernández (Orbea) was jubilant as he crossed the line as he was finally able to beat a rampaging Egoitz Murgoitio (Hirumet-Taldea) and claim victory on the famous Igorre circuit. Hernández was able to come from behind after Murgoitio took an early lead, making the juncture with 2 laps to go, and pounced on the final lap to take an 8 second lead, more than enough to secure a big confidence boost.

The start of the elite men's race included a big crash by one of the foreign competitors, Bart Hofman of Belgium, who might have been one of the only ones to challenge either Murgoitio or Hernández today. Murgoitio took an early lead just as he had done at Asteasu on Thursday and at Itsasondo yesterday, while Hernández trailed in his wake along with former Euskaltel teammate Aketza Peña. Murgoitio continued out in front but Hernández gained ground on him every lap until he caught the man from Bizkaia. Hernández launched his move that put him on the top step of the podium while Murgoitio has to settle for 2nd place. Spanish Champion Isaac Suarez finished in 3rd while Aketza Peña surprised in 4th place while Tino Zaballa passed Javier Ruiz de Larrinaga for 5th on the final lap. Murgoitio praised Hernández in his post-race interview, once again saying that he deserved the win and that he himself made mistakes that Hernández capitalized on.

Results

• 1. Aitor Hernández (Orbea)
• 2. Egoitz Murgoitio (Hirumet-Taldea) +25"
• 3. Isaac Suarez (Bio-Racer/Caravanas) +1'10"
• 4. Aketza Peña (Zallako Belodromo) +2'08"
• 5. Tino Zaballa (Zugor) +2'17"
• 6. Javier Ruiz de Larrinaga (MMR-Spiuk) +2'34"
• 7. Erlantz Uriarte (Ibaigane Opel) +2'36"
• 8. Jonathan Lastra (Hirumet-Taldea) (1st U23) +3'19"
• 9. Josep Betalu (GSport) +4'40"
• 10. Jon Gomez (Bio-Racer/Caravanas) (2nd U23) +5'00"

In other action, Caja Rural junior Alex Aranburu won again convincingly for the 2nd day in a row over Felipe Orts (Infinobras) and Alvaro Carral (Incera-Forlica). 22-year-old Lucia González (Lointek) was once again able to deny the feisty Olatz Odriozola in the elite women's race while younger sister Alicia González dominated the junior women's race over Lierni Lekuona.

Photo: Iñaki Azanza