Wellens takes top-5 in Jaén Clasica

Tim Wellens took 4th place at the Clasica Jaen in Spain today with the Belgian veteran animating a race where UAE Team Emirates were present from the moment the flag dropped.

Igor Arrieta formed part of the early break which went away in the opening kilometres on the shortened route from Baeza to Úbeda (158.3km). The four-man group built a maximum lead of nearly 5 minutes before the work of Visma LAB pulled it back.

Race winner Oier Lazkano (Movistar) would outlast the chasing bunch despite the work of UAE, Ineos and Visma behind.

Wellens joined Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik (Visma Lab) and Bastien Tronchon (Decathlon AG2R) in the chasing group and would settle for 4th in the gallop to the line.

Wellens: “We were in a good position from the start with Igor in the front, but when he was dropped from the break that situation changed a bit. We rode very fast behind to try and catch the break but Lazkano was quite strong and deserved to win today. We were hoping for a podium but I think overall we had a good team performance.”

Results

1.Oier Lazkano (Movistar) 3:43:50

2.Bastien Troncon (Decathlon AG2R) +28”

3.Jan Tratnik (Visma LAB) s.t

4.Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) s.t