Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation) took a surprising victory on stage 1 of the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina.
The Frenchman emerged victorious from a chaotic bunch sprint ahead of Manuel Belletti (Androni-Sidermec) and local rider Tomas Contte (Municipalidad de Pocito).
“It’s a great start to the season,” Barbier said. “This is a very important victory for me and for the whole team. The best sprinters in the world are in San Juan, so to win here is incredible for me.”
With around 3 kilometres to go, there was a big crash that caused a break in the peloton, but the main candidates for the victory of the stage remained in front. The final kilometre was chaotic and Israel Start-Up Nation’s Rudy Barbier was the first to cross the finish line.
Vuelta a San Juan 2020 – stage 1 results (San Juan – San Juan):
| 1 | Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation) | 3:45:14 |
| 2 | Manuel Belletti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) | ,, |
| 3 | Tomas Contte (Municipalidad de Pocito) | ,, |
| 4 | Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 5 | Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | ,, |
| 6 | Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 7 | Roman Maikin (Russia) | ,, |
| 8 | Luca Wackermann (Vini Zabu-KTM) | ,, |
| 9 | Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 10 | Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis) | ,, |
Vuelta a San Juan 2020 – general classification after stage 1:
| 1 | Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation) | 3:45:04 |
| 2 | Manuel Belletti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) | +04” |
| 3 | Tomas Contte (Municipalidad de Pocito) | +06” |
| 4 | Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) | +10” |
| 5 | Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | ,, |
| 6 | Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 7 | Roman Maikin (Russia) | ,, |
| 8 | Luca Wackermann (Vini Zabu-KTM) | ,, |
| 9 | Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 10 | Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis) | ,, |
