170211 Tour of Murcia

Alejandro Valverde comes fifth time on the honor roll of the Ronde van Murcia

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the Ronde van Murcia (cat. 1.1) for the fifth time in his career on Saturday.

In the 37th edition, the 36-year-old Spaniard finished solo after 182.7 kilometers from San Javier to Murcia. Colombian Jhonatan Restrepo won the sprint for second place with a time of 2:10, ahead of Austrian Patrick Konrad, Jürgen Roelandts, and Baptiste Planckaert. With Tiesj Benoot in eighth place, a third Belgian finished in the top ten.
Valverde completed the last 70 kilometers in his home region alone and easily fended off a chase group of 21 riders. He previously won the Ronde van Murcia in 2004, 2007, and 2008, when it was still a stage race, and in 2014. His compatriot Melchor Mauri, winner in 1994 and 1996, is the only other rider who has managed to have his name on the honor roll more than once. On that honor roll, Valverde follows Philippe Gilbert. The only Belgian winner of the Ronde van Murcia did not start this year.