Jaén has hosted the second stage of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN, on a day that coincided with Andalusia Day and has received a large number of people to see what the first arrival in the city of Jaén was like.
The start from the Cathedral of Jaén took the runners on a continuous "up-down" route along the slope of Jabalcuz to finish in El Pincho at 1,367 meters of altitude, and the subsequent descent to the Olivo Arena in Jaén, where they found the finish line. The day has been marked by the snow that resisted at the highest level of the day in one of the most emblematic peaks of Jaén, El Pincho, unusual images in recent editions.
In the first kilometers of the stage, the pair formed by the European champion Fabian Rabensteiner and Wout Alleman (Wilier Pirelli Factory) took the lead and managed to open up a margin that has not narrowed until the finish line, and they It has served to achieve victory after trying it in the previous stage, with which his change in strategy has worked from the beginning: “Today we decided to attack from the start because yesterday we had bad luck with the weather conditions, and we lost time. We both felt very good and we managed to get a good advantage”.
Behind, a chasing group has formed that has rolled together throughout the stage. The accumulated snow and ice at the top of El Pincho have meant that the runners had to be careful on the descent. Tiago Ferreira and Andreas Miltiadis (DMT-Blackjack) who have achieved a second position, have led this group to the finish line, arriving more than 2 minutes behind the winners of the stage, followed by the Italians Francesco Failli and Riccardo Chiarini (Taddei Factory Team ) who have completed the podium. For their part, Michal Paluta and Pawel Bernas (JBG2 Team), winners of the first stage and current leaders, keep the coveted overall jersey.
In the women's category, the leaders, Janina Wüst and Txell Figueras (BUFF®-Megamo Team) set out with the aim of maintaining the overall lead, but on the climb to El Pincho, the Lithuanian
Katazina Sosna and the Swiss Irina Luetzelschwab (Team Torpado BULLS Swiss) took advantage of the climb to overtake them and gain enough distance to reach the finish line and win the stage.
“It has been a fast stage. After the first 20 kilometers we took the lead and led the entire race. It was very nice because it was snowy at the top and the temperature was low, but the terrain was fine, and there was no risk on the descent”.
Despite not winning the stage, the current leaders, Janina Wüst and Txell Figueras (BUFF®-Megamo Team), maintain the overall lead. The podium of the day in the Elite UCI Women's category was completed with Lejla Njemcevic and Stefanie Dohrn (Canyon Allebike) in second position, and the current overall leaders in third.
The day has served to celebrate the festivity of Andalusia Day. In this stage 2 a special category has been included for riders who have played only one stage. In addition, inflatables and DJs have been placed at the finish line in Jaén to liven up the party.
Tomorrow, Jaén will host the third stage in an unprecedented route so far in Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN. The departure will again be from the Cathedral of Jaén, but this time it will go in the direction of Los Villares, where the sea of olive trees typical of Jaén will stand out. Afterwards, the stage will pass through Las Cimbras, the Cañada de las Hazadillas and the slope of Cerro de San Cristóbal before returning to the Olivo Arena in Jaén.
