Serrano 16th at brilliant first edition of Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior

Lutsenko take home first-ever 'Golden Olive'

Gonzalo, Sergio Samitier top Blues at grueling, spectacular race on Andalusian soil.

It was an unquestionable win for Alexey Lutsenko (AST) at the 1st Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior (UCI 1.1), held on Monday over 188km between Baeza and Úbeda with seven long gravel sectors and an endless series of tough slopes in the ‘sea of olive trees’ of this Andalusian province.

Johan Jacobs at one of the early gravel roads. (c) Photo Gomez Sport / Sprint Cycling Agency

The Kazakh won with a huge margin over Tim Wellens (LTS, 2nd) and Loïc Vliegen (IWG, 3rd) as the race was completely torn apart already in the penultimate loop around the finish. The Movistar Team, which sought for the early moves with Johan Jacobs, wasn’t able to join the final selection.

Serrano and Kanter during the race. (c) Photo Gomez Sport / Sprint Cycling Agency

Sergio Samitier, part of the first big cut, and most notably Gonzalo Serrano, 16th at just over 2′ from the day’s winner, were the Blues’ top finishers in the first day of a long Andalusian week that will resume, starting Wednesday, with the Ruta del Sol.