Magnus Sheffield claimed the first professional victory of his career with a late breakaway win in Vuelta a Andalucia.
The 19-year-old American found himself at the head of the race as a select lead group entered the final kilometre and put his time trialing skills on full display as he powered clear, opening up a gap to win solo into Otura.
Simon Clarke (Israel Premier Tech) beat Stan Dewulf (Ag2r-Citroen) in the sprint for second, a handful of seconds back on Sheffield.
“It feels unbelievable to be able to get my first professional win this early in the season“, said the neo-pro.
“The team plan before the stage was to try put me in the best position in the final KM’s and to try see how I could sprint. However, the race blew apart on the last climb but we had five guys in the front group which played out perfectly.
“I haven’t won a bike race since my first year as a junior and I haven’t had many opportunities to show the progression I’ve made the past couple years. It all happened so fast but I knew I couldn’t let up the last hundred metres.
“This win makes all the hard work and sacrifices I’ve made the past couple years all worth it and I feel like I can use this as confidence going into the classics.”
??@MagnusSheffield of ??@INEOSGrenadiers wins stage 3 of ??@VCANDALUCIA #68RdS (?@SenalDeportes) pic.twitter.com/x99K7oV2J3
— World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) February 18, 2022
