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The Clásica Jáen Paraíso Interior may have been Tadej Pogačar‘s first race of the season, but the Slovenian showed no sign of winter rust as he shot to a dominant solo victory.
Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates squad had controlled the Strade Bianche-esque race for much of the day, their work duly rewarded as he made his move on an uphill gravel sector at 45km to go before bridging to the last breakaway rider standing and then going it alone 9km later.
The two-time Tour de France winner – who said at the start that his presence at the race was “just to try something different and spice up my calendar” – was unimpeachable on the challenging 179km course. He swiftly built a lead of over a minute to the favourites group in no time and predictably stayed away during the closing circuits of the final 30km to add yet another victory to his palmarès.
Pogačar’s advantage would only grow as he blazed a lone trail on the…
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