Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2024: Alessandro Tonelli (right) wins stage 1 alongside VF Group-Bardiani CSF teammate Manuele Tarozzi, who took second(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Spanish champion Oier Lazkano (Movistar Team) crosses the finish line on third place(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Jonathan Milan (Lidl -Trek) leads bunch sprint for fifth place, just ahead of Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana: Alessandro Tonelli rides behind VF-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè teammate Manuele Tarozzi as they head to 1-2 finish on stage 1 in Castellon de la Plana(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Gorka Sorarrain of Caja Rural-RGA, Jetse Bol of Team Burgos-BH and Alessandro Tonelli of VF Group Bardiani CSF compete in the breakaway(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The breakaway includes Alessandro Tonelli of Team VF Group Bardiani CSF, who sets the pace at the front(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Samuele Zoccarato of Team VF Group Bardiani CSF (far left) rides beside USA's Tyler Stites of Project Echelon and Georgios Bouglas of Burgos-BH at the front of the peloton(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Michael Matthews of Team Jayco AlUla in the peloton(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Spanish road champion Oier Lazkano of Movistar Team rides during stage 1 between Benicassim to Castellon de la Plana(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Team Kern Pharma prior to 2024 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana's Stage 1 from Benicassim(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Team Lidl-Trek at team introductions before stage 1 at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2024(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Alessandro Tonelli of VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane celebrates at podium as stage 1 winner(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Alessandro Tonelli (VF Group-Bardiani-Faizanè) won the opening stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in Castellón, crossing the line ahead of teammate Manuele Tarozzi after attacking out of the day's breakaway.
The duo survived a slapstick moment where they went off course at a roundabout, coming back together to ride to the line side by side.
Oier Lazkano (Movistar) emerged from a late chase to take third over Alex Molenaar (Ileas Balears Arabay) one minute behind, just before Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) led the peloton to the line.
The peloton mistimed their chase and could not close a nearly two-minute gap the Bardiani pair held after the category 2 Desert de las Palmes inside 20km to go. Despite a furtive effort from Bahrain Victorious, the two held off the chase to seize the lead in the overall classification.
"A beautiful day, I must thank my teammate Manuele Tarozzi for this success, who helped me throughout the race," Tonelli said. "This victory is very important because it means that we did an excellent job of during the winter. We will try to hold onto the leader's jersey as long as possible in the coming days. Now we will approach the races with more confidence and try to win again."
How it unfolded
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana opened in Benicàssim under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures, with riders free from the layers of winter training.
Francisco Muñoz (Polti Kometa) was the first rider to attack. but was quickly caught. It took almost 20km before a breakaway could be established, and Muñoz was again in the move.
The day's breakaway included Gorka Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Iñigo Elosegui (Kern Pharma), Jetse Bol (B&B Hotels), Tarozzi and Tonelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Francisco Muñoz (Polti Kometa) and Alex Molenaar (Illes Balears Arabay).
The peloton was content to let the group get a big gap, stretching over nine minutes halfway through the stage before an undulating descent swung the balance in favour of the chase.
Jayco-AlUla led the chase for Michael Matthews, but when the breakaway hit a series of short, sharp climbs with 30km to go, their gap tumbled quickly.
As the road tilted up, UAE Team Emirates accelerated and halved the breakaway's gap.
With 25km to go, the VF Group-Bardiani duo attacked the breakaway and opened a decent gap, and in the peloton behind, Movistar came forward with Bora-Hansgrohe to lead the chase ahead of the category 2 climb to Desert de las Palmes, a 7.7km climb averaging 5.1%.
As Tonelli and Tarozzi forged on, Muñoz was the first to be dropped and was joined by Sorarrain as UAE came back to the front to eliminate the three-minute gap to the leaders, alternating with Bahrain Victorious.
The duo still had more than two minutes in hand as they started the quick descent into Castellón - had the peloton miscalculated?
Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) hit out off the front of the bunch in his signature rocket-like descending style just as Muñoz came back and opened a big gap behind him by taking a terrible line into a bend.
However, with 5km to go, Mohorič hadn't made meaningful inroads and it looked like a Bardiani 1-2 would be inevitable. A moment of stress when they were briefly led off course forgotten, the pair could celebrate their achievement and relish the lead in the overall classification.
Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
