January 31, 2025
The climbing starts after 60KM with the Coll de Sa Batalla, Coll de Puig Major, and the Coll de Sóller. The profile grades out as the final 38KM includes the descent off of the Coll de Sóller then a flat run to the finish in Selva.
Race Summary
Rain came down at the start and was forecast to continue throughout the day. The organizers neutralized the first 13KM due to a descent made dangerous by the wet roads. No break got away and with 64KM to go, Tudor Pro Cycling were making life difficult for the others on the Puig Major. It was all together over the top but the race split into pieces on the descent and when they entered Sóller with 47KM to go, less than 20 riders were at the front with other groups scrambling behind to catch on.
Jan Christen of UAE-XRG and Marc Hirschi of Tudor Pro Cycling were aggressive on the lower slopes of the Coll de Sóller but it was Christen's teammate António Morgado who got away. Diego Ulissi of XDS-Astana bridged up to Morgado with just under 3KM to climb. The pair went over the top with 38KM to go and a gap of around 20 seconds. Ulissi couldn't hold the wheel on the technical wet descent and dropped back to the chase group. Multiple crashes in the chase group spread riders all over with riders descending in bunches of two and three. At the bottom, Morgado had about 20 seconds on Hirschi, Ulissi, Henri Vandenabeele of Lotto, Hugo de la Calle of Burgos, and Markus Hoelgaard of Uno-X Mobility.
The chase group swelled to 11 riders including three from VF Group–Bardiani but the gap was locked in at 20 seconds with 17KM to go. Morgado sat up 5KM later to join the chase instead of dangling at a handful of seconds ahead. Florian Stork of Tudor Pro Cycling was the first attacker from the group at 3.2KM. Martin Marcellusi of VF Group–Bardiani went after him but couldn't bridge and got stuck in the middle. Stork went through the final kilometer up the steep narrow streets of Selva with plenty of time to savor his first professional victory. Marcellusi held on for second with Hoelgaard winning the uphill sprint for third.