ben oliver sprints to 3rd on opening stage of vuelta a andalucia

The team’s European season got underway in earnest today with a strong showing from start to finish on the opening stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia, concluding with a third place sprint finish for Ben Oliver. Fresh off the back of a strong showing at the New Zealand nationals and lining up for his first European race of the year, Oliver put the finishing touches to a solid team display.

Lucas Towers kicked things off getting into the day’s move, spending much of the stage in a seven rider break before eventually getting caught by a select group of climbers and GC favourites over the day’s main climb. The fast, flat run in to the finish saw the front of the race come back together and, having been kept in position and piloted by his teammates, Oliver dug deep on the fast run in to the line to take third, getting the five-day race off to a strong start for the team.

After the stage, Oliver said: “It was a wild day of racing with the boys, the pace never let up the whole day. A lot of us got over the first 25k climb then Lucas got in the break and the rest of us managed to stick together. I held on over some pretty hilly terrain in the middle of the stage. The three boys I had left with me did a great job to navigate me to the finish line and get me close enough to keep me in the mix. In the last 2k I surfed the wheels as much as I could and gave everything to the line. First pro race in Europe and first podium - absolutely wrapped! Team vibes are good, now four more days to go.”