Del Toro and Ciccone crash in final meters of Burgos opener, Adriá takes advantage and wins

The Tour of Burgos is considered one of the most essential preparatory races for the Vuelta a España. The five-day race therefore had great names on the starting list, including Jai Hindley, Egan Bernal, Isaac Del Toro, Giulio Ciccone, Mikel Landa, and Wout Poels. It promised to be a thrilling battle in the GC, but first, there was a (relatively) flat stage to Burgos to complete.

The riders covered the first kilometers in Spain on rolling terrain. Six riders wanted to make something happen right away. Five Spaniards quickly broke away and were joined by one Belgian, Dries De Bondt, who felt the urge to go and wanted to be there early. Together they built up a lead, but halfway through the race it became smaller and smaller. Then they reached the Puerto de la Mazorra, the longest and most challenging climb of the day.

De Bondt proved to be one of the stronger breakaway riders. Together with Carlos García Pierna (Burgos Burpellet BH), he rode away from his breakaway companions. But it was mainly delaying the inevitable: UAE Team Emirates - XRG rode at the front and caught up with the pair 25 kilometers from the finish. There began the surprisingly hilly finale, where short but vicious climbs made life difficult for the sprinters.

De Bondt and García Pierna fought hard, but with 15 kilometers to go, it was all over. It was the start of a highly aggressive phase, where the sprinters' teams briefly lost control. But Lidl-Trek managed to neutralize the breakaways. The last breakaway rider was caught in the difficult final kilometer, where Roger Adriá launched the sprint. In the tricky finale, Del Toro crashed, taking Ciccone with him, allowing the Spaniard to win.