Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) took his ninth victory of the season with a solo attack in the GP Miguel Indurain.
Instead of riding the Tour Of Flanders, Valverde returned to Spain for a 189.1km race which started and finished in Estrella.
Jack Haig was an early leader in the race but by the time of the final climb of the Alto Du Muru, Movistar had dealt with the break and it was Valverde who made a move and went on to win.
Carlos Verona (Mitchelton-Scott) was second with Nick Schultz (Caja Rural) in third place.
“I’m very happy to be able to win this edition for all that it means, with a tribute to José Miguel Echávarri. It’s always a beautiful race but this time I wanted to come and run for him,” Valverde said.
“It was fast and windy all day, so the team did a spectacular job, controlling the pace at all times. There have been several teams who attacked on the last circuit; Mitchelton and Katusha were the most difficult to control. But we played it well, leaving just me and Carlos Verona up there.
“I’m happy to win again. I can only thank all the doctors who helped me recover from my injury, as well as my family for their great support and all the fans who have encouraged me since July. Next week I will be in Amorebieta before facing the Amstel Gold Race, Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, my last races before taking a break.”
GP Miguel Indurain 2018 results:
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | 4:41:18 |
| 2 | Carlos Verona (Mitchelton-Scott) | +20” |
| 3 | Nick Schultz (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) | +01’04” |
| 4 | Eduard Prades (Euskadi Basque Country) | +01’16” |
| 5 | Carlos Betancur (Movistar) | ,, |
| 6 | Marc Soler (Movistar) | +01’19” |
| 7 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +01’30” |
| 8 | Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) | +01’43” |
| 9 | Simon Spilak (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 10 | Dmitrii Strakhov (Lokosphinx) | +02’03” |
