Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) added his name to a long list of champions to win Gran Premio Miguel Indurain in Estella.
The American ignited a late-race solo breakaway with 10km to go but was then joined by bridger Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) over the final ascent, Alto de Ibarra.
Van Gils distanced McNulty over the top of the short climb, but the UAE Team Emirates rider used his superior time trial strength to reconnect with his rival in the final few hundred metres of the race and then won a two-up sprint to the finish line – Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) took third.
"I attacked on the last long climb, and he caught me on the last steep kicker. He caught me, and I thought I was done, but then I came back on the downhill and won the sprint. It was crazy, but it was a good day," McNulty said.
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain's nearly 200km hilly challenge across multiple circuits in and around Estella. Once on the final local lap in Estella, the peloton faced Alto de Irache, Alto de Eraul, Alto de Muru and finally Alto de Ibarra before a short and tricky descent into the finish line.
An early breakaway of seven included Louis Leidert (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Jose Maria Garcia (Iles Balears Arabay), and Julius Johansen (Sabgal-Anicolor), Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) and Javier Serrano (Polti Kometa).
Israel-Premier Tech led the field and held the gap at about two minutes, but ultimately, the move was reeled back in with 30km remaining.
A decisive group split of the front over the Alto de Irache led by Nans Peters (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost), Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Jon Barrenetxea (Movistar), Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates), Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma), Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), and Paul Double (Polti Kometa).
The main field, which was reduced to around 20 riders, pulled the group back into the fold on the entrance to the last circuit and ahead of the Alto de Eraul.
Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) was the first to attack on the Alto de Eraul, which acted as a launch pad for McNulty to break off the front inside 10km to go ahead of the the Alto de Muru. With little cohesion in the chase group, McNulty pushed his lead to 15 seconds on the descent.
With just one climb to go, he climbed the short Alto de Ibarra, where he was joined by Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny). Van Gils distanced McNulty over the top, soloed the final tricky descent, and raced through the flamme rouge with a slim five seconds on McNulty.
Digging in deep, McNulty reconnected with Van Gils with 500 metres to go and then surged to take the two-up sprint victory and his first one-day race win of the season at Gran Premio Miguel Indurain.
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