Morgado fastest of the breakaway group in thrilling finale at Gran Premio Castellón

Race in Europe! The road season started early this week with the Tour Down Under. But this weekend, the peloton is also racing in Europe, specifically Spain. The women rode the first race of the (sort of) trilogy Challenge Mallorca, and the men started at the Gran Premio Castellón.

A smaller race was already held in Spain on Friday. On Saturday, WorldTour teams also started at the Gran Premio Castellón (1.1). At first glance, this one-day race over 171 kilometers between Castellón and Onda was an opportunity for the sprinters. Along the way, however, several obstacles had to be negotiated. For example, the Collado de Ayódar (5 km at 4.4%) was on the route in the finale. The top of the climb was eleven kilometers from the finish. Defending champion Michael Matthews was declared the top favorite beforehand, but the scenario turned out differently than expected.

A breakaway of eight riders formed early in the race. Carlos García Pierna (Burgos-BH) initially tried his luck solo but was joined by Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto), Jokin Murguialday (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Unai Esparza, Sergio Trueba (Illes Balears Arabay), Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Harrison Wood (Sabgal-Anicolor) and Jack Brough (AVC Aix Provence Dole). This group built a three-minute lead.

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Morgado blasts to victory in exciting final

Cofidis, Q36.5, and Jayco AlUla controlled the peloton, gradually catching the breakaway riders. On the Collado de Ayódar, the last attacker, Veistroffer, was caught. This was the signal for UAE Emirates-XRG to take control. Alessandro Covi and António Morgado launched an attack, joined by Davide Formolo (Movistar), Christian Scaroni, Clément Champoussin (XDS-Astana), and Eric Antonio Fagúndez (Burgos-BH). This sextet managed to take a decisive lead.

Although the domestiques of Jayco AlUla, Cofidis, and Bahrain Victorious tried to close the gap, they fell just short—with emphasis on just. Morgado proved himself the strongest/fastest in the uphill sprint to the finish. The young Portuguese already rode an impressive spring in 2024, for example, finishing fifth in the Tour of Flanders and starting well in 2025.

"It was a very hard race. At the top of the climb I managed to get to the front but I had to suffer a lot : I'm not a pure climber. Over the top myself and Covi ended up in a small group and we gave everything until the finish. It was a big fight in the end. I'm tired but I'm very happy to start the year with a win, it's a great start for the team so far," Morgado told his team afterward.

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Results Gran Premio Castellón - Ruta de la Cerámica 2025

Henttala fastest in European season opener Trofeo Marratxí-Felanitx

Last year, this race was held for the first time, and then EF Education-Oatly took the win thanks to Noemi Rüegg. This year, the women were presented with a 129-kilometer course from Marratxí (a suburb of Palma) to Felanitx. The only obstacles along the way were three fourth-category climbs. In other words, nothing special, just sprint!

Numerous well-known names appeared at the start, including Marlen Reusser, Cédrine Kerbaol, Chiara Consonni, Maví Garcia, Thalita de Jong, and Sofie van Rooijen. With Consonni, there was also a dangerous sprinter in the peloton.

The leading group of the day consisted of Fariba Hashimi (CERATIZIT), Monica Castagna (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Marina Garau (Bepink-Bongioanni), and Julie Sap (VELOPRO-Alphamotorhomes CT) The Spanish, Italian, Belgian and Afghan got a maximum lead of four minutes. With thirty kilometers to go, the lead of the breakaway riders was rapidly dwindling. Indeed, the collaboration was not anything to write home about. With eight kilometers to the finish, it was over.

So, in Felanitx, we went for the final sprint, with EF Education-Oatly doing a perfect job of bringing Lotta Henttala to the front. The Finnish completed the team's effort beautifully by crossing the line first. Chiara Consonni and Maggie Coles-Lyster finished second and third, respectively.

Results Trofeo Marratxi-Felanitx 2025

Read also

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Tour of AlUla showcases Pidcock on the start list, alongside top sprinters

Want to know when and where the most exciting races of 2025 will take place? Check out our updated 2025 cycling calendars for the men's and women's peloton!

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