Kubis and Rockets come close, but veteran Matthews proves still a slightly bigger force in GP Castellón

On Friday, the European spring season was kicked off in Spain. Christian Scaroni continued where he left off last year: winning. The Clasica Camp de Morvedre was followed on Saturday by the GP Castellón, once again a hilly race around the Valencia area. And there was certainly no shortage of exciting riders in Castellón.

Scaroni was present again, as were defending champion António Morgado and Benoît Cosnefroy. But Michael Matthews was also there. It promised to be a spectacular race! A breakaway of six riders coloured the day, including Belgian Jasper Schoofs (Soudal Quick-Step) and our fellow countryman Enzo Leijnse (Anicolor / Campicarn). They built a maximum advantage of around four minutes.

The six saw their lead shrink when the last 60 kilometres began. In that hilly finale it was Jayco AlUla doing the work for their leader Matthews. The finale only really kicked off with about 20 kilometres to go, when the riders passed the finish line for the first time. That’s where the real test began. Leijnse held on for a long time, but eventually the peloton came alongside.

And even the Dutchman had to accept defeat on the flanks of the Collado de Avódar. There, UAE Team Emirates-XRG predictably raised the tempo, and shortly after Morgado himself launched an acceleration. Just before the top he tried to get away, but the XDS Astana duo of Guillermo Silva and Christian — along with Héctor Álvarez (Lidl-Trek) — didn’t let him go.

That led to an impasse in the breakaway group, and as a result the peloton closed in quickly. The Uruguayan Silva hung on the longest, but after the other three riders had been caught, his efforts were also over. It would come down to a sprint from a reduced peloton, and on the tricky uphill finish Matthews was the strongest. Pau Miquel and Lukas Kubis finished second and third at a respectful distance.