Kenny Dehaes beats Tyler Farrar, Ben Swift to open Mallorca Challenge
The Trofeo Palma ends with a bunch sprint after a break is reeled in short of the line
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PALMA DE MALLORCA, Mallorca (VN) — Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) kicked to second in a bunch sprint Sunday in the opening day of the four-race Mallorca Challenge in Spain.
Kenny Dehaes (Lotto-Belisol) was fastest in the bunch sprint in the Trofeo Palma held along Palma de Mallorca’s port, with 10 laps on a 11.6km circuit. It was the first win in five years for Dehaes, who last won a stage at the Tour of Belgium in 2008.
Farrar, who debuted his 2013 season at the Tour Down Under, crossed the line second. He won the Trofeo Mallorca in 2011. Ben Swift (Team Sky) crossed the line third.
The Spanish racing calendar clicked into gear Sunday with an all-star cast, including Tour de France defending champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and teammate Chris Froome (Sky). Also lining up were Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Joaquím Rodríguez (Katusha).
Wiggins, who has targeted a run at the Giro d’Italia this year, has already been training on Mallorca for weeks ahead of the 2013 season. He races next at the Tour of Oman ahead of planned starts at the Volta a Catalunya, Giro del Trentino and the Giro d’Italia and Tour.
The four-day Mallorca Challenge ¬– a series of one-day races in which riders can participate as often as they’d like — continues Monday with the 160km Trofeo Campos-Santanyi-Salines in a hilly parcours ending with a short uphill finale.