Maté and Kortekaas strike first

A route can resemble another year in 99% and yet offer a totally different show. The first stage of the Škoda Titan Desert Almeria just varied a few kilometers from the 2023 edition, but the result has been very different.

The heat, the wadis and the spectacular scenery that gives the natural protected area of Cabo de Gata have been the main protagonists of the inaugural stage.

Five riders took the lead from the start: Luis Ángel Maté, Luis León Sánchez, Riccardo Chiarini, the legionary Nicolás Mercader and David Rodríguez, representative of the Junta de Andalucía.

Everything remained between the leading group for almost a hundred kilometers of today’s route, but the Euskaltel Euskadi rider from Marbella is in his third edition of the race and was able to make his veteran experience count.

The ‘Lince’ was strong in those very complicated ramblas that lead to the finish and was able to open a gap of almost 10 seconds with his immediate pursuer: Luis León Sánchez.

It’s all between these two former WorldTour peloton teammates, but with three stages still to go and five riders within a minute of each other, the race is wide open.

So it seems, at least, in the fight for the men’s classification. In the women’s GC there are no surprises. Tessa Kortekaas, the great dominator of the Titan World Series in recent years, made good on her favoritism from the start.

The Dutchwoman started off slowly finding her rhythm and taking the pulse of the race. Kortekaas acknowledged, as did Maté, that stage 1 this year was tougher than last year. The heat and softer sand in some sectors added complications for the elite riders.

However, the Cannondale ISB Sport rider did what she always does: race against herself. She stopped looking for references and focused solely on riding at a pace she was comfortable with, without looking anywhere else.

Thus, Kortekaas reached the finish line in first position. Behind her came María Esther Maqueda, another representative of the Junta de Andalucía; and María Díaz Pernía, former Spanish champion and rookie in the Škoda Titan Desert Almería.