Tadej Pogacar started his season more than convincingly on Monday. The Slovenian all-rounder was by far the best in the Spanish gravel race Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior. He seems to have fully recovered from a nasty infection.
At 42 kilometers from the finish, Pogacar started his adventure. The 24-year-old Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates drove all his competitors out of the wheel, swallowed up the last remaining escapee with Sergio Samitier and then soloed to victory unchallenged.
Even material failure in the final kilometers did not throw a spanner in the works. Pogacar was 48 seconds ahead of his pursuers at the finish, who didn’t stand a chance despite their cooperation. The Brit Ben Turner of INEOS Grenadiers came second, with the Belgian Tim Wellens (Pogacar teammate) in his wheel.
Well-known names such as Ben Tulett (sixth), Warren Barguil (ninth) and Gorka Izagirre (tenth) were also a size too small for Pogacar. Pascal Eenkhoorn was the best Dutchman in fifteenth place. The 26-year-old national champion exchanged Jumbo-Visma for Lotto Dstny this winter.
The victory is a boost for Pogacar, who recently suffered from an intestinal infection. That forced him to change his program. Instead of his usual participation in the Tour of the United Arab Emirates – the country that sponsors his team – he decided to race in Spain. The two-time Tour winner will start in the five-day stage race Ruta del Sol on Wednesday.
The Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior is the Spanish answer to the famous Italian gravel race Strade Bianche, which Pogacar won in the same way last year. The race is over several gravel lanes, with a tricky finish in the medieval center of the town of Baeza. The race was organized for the first time last year. The Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko was then the winner.
