The Italian prevailed in the 190-kilometer Andalusian one-day test
The Belgian Arnaud de Lie was second and the also Belgian Jordi Meuss, third
Matteo Moschetti achieved victory in the thirty-sixth edition of the Almeria Classicdisputed this Sunday on a 190-kilometer circuit that has passed through the west of Almería and in which the wind has accompanied the runners throughout the day.
The Italian, who joins the list of winners, managed to beat the Belgian Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny) in the sprint, who was second, and the Belgian Jordi Meuss (Bora Hansgrohe), who was third, all with a time 4 hours, 43 minutes and 16 seconds.
In any case, the epic point of the race was marked by a break that began a few kilometers after the start, which took place in Puebla de Vícar, and which ended with 64 to go, set in Roquetas de Mar, and in the that the three escapees, Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel), Eugenio Sánchez (Kern Pharma) and De Pestel (Team Flanders), came to have a seven-minute advantage in full ascent to Celín -a second-category stop at km 46-.
The three breakaways, riding at a good pace, maintained the advantage over a peloton that did not put up a fight until the pass was crested, with Maté, Sánchez and De Pestel riding together and with the wind in their favour. From then on, movements began to be seen at the head of the race, with the Norwegians of Uno-X preparing the ground for their leader, the Nordic Alexander Kristoff, who won last year’s edition.
On the descent, Lotto, Movistar and Intermarché worked so that the advantage did not increase, while Luis Ángel Maté had already won the mountains classification and Eugenio Sánchez the intermediate sprints, so, with more than 60 kilometers to reach the finish line, , Movistar took the lead, with the collaboration of Astana and Intermarché, with arrivals in their ranks, ready to score the victory.
The last few minutes were of constant skirmishes between the teams with sprinters, rolling in single file, with UAE Emirates, with Matteo Trentin; and Ineos Grenadiers, with Ben Turner.
However, Movistar wanted to appear again, with ten kilometers to go, to set a pace with less incidence of the wind, sheltered by the streets of Roquetas de Mar, where the group was going in full at the first step.
However, with four kilometers to go with several teams trying to impose their rhythm, Ineos, Unox-X, Lotto-Dstiny, Cofidis appeared preparing the arrival, with the Norwegians facing the last meters with an advantage for Alexander Kristoff.
However, the smartest was the Italian Matto Moschetti (Q36.5), who, appearing on the left side of the train, took the center of Avenida Juan Carlos I to win over De Lie and Meuss.