Rudy Barbier sprints to Vuelta a San Juan opening stage Win
Barbier outsprinted Hodeg, Sagan and Fernando Gaviria to take the opening stage and leaders jersey
The Tour of San Juan started this Sunday with a 141.3 km long stage that looked good for a bunch sprint.
Sprint favourites Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck - Quick Step) were surprised by Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation), who managed take the stage on the line.
The Frenchman beat Manuel Belletti (Androni-Giocattoli) and Tomas Contte (Municipalidad de Pocito), and favorites Hodeg, Peter Sagan and Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) taking 5th, 6th and 9th places respectively.
A big crash with 3 kilometres to go saw several riders hit the ground, some being severely delayed, including Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick Step), one of the favorites for overall victory.
#ICYMI A massive crash with 3.5 kilometers to go, caused by a spectator, in stage 1 of ????@vueltasanjuanok #VueltaSJ #VueltaSJ2020 pic.twitter.com/0604hy4CJe
— World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) January 26, 2020
2020 Vuelta a San Juan Stage 1 Top 10
1 Rudy Barbier, Israel Start-Up Nation 03:45
2 Manuel Belletti, Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
3 Tomas Contte, Municipalidad de Pocito
4 Sebastian Molano, UAE Team Emirates
5 Alvaro Hodeg, Deceuninck - Quick Step
6 Peter Sagan, Bora - Hansgrohe
7 Roman Maikin, Russia
8 Luca Wackermann, Vini Zabù - KTM
9 Fernando Gaviria, UAE Team Emirates
10 Cyril Lemoine, Cofidis