OPENING189.7 km from Puebla de Vícar to a flat finish in Roquetas de Mar, the 39th edition of this early-season sprinters' classic and part of the UCI ProSeries. A few small climbs in the opening half gave the early break — Márton Dina, Ander Okamika, Brem Deman, Javier Ibáñez and Pablo Carrascosa — its platform, but the flat run to the coast meant the day was always shaped for the fast men.

UNFOLDSThe break resisted until around 22 km to go, when the peloton lifted the pace and reeled it in. Wind played a role on the exposed coastal roads, but it was the tense, technical urban run-in that defined the finale: leadout trains were forced to fight for position far earlier than usual, and the lead-in to the line was punctuated by countless crashes inside the last 15 kilometres.

DECIDEDThe final kilometres were frantic, leadouts hitting the front one at a time with no team able to settle the bunch. In the closing approach Arnaud De Lie battled to hold Girmay's wheel and clashed shoulders hard with NSN's Lewis Askey, who was driving the train — a bump that nearly took the whole leadout down. NSN held it together, and inside the final kilometre four of their riders surged to the front to deliver Girmay perfectly.

FINALELaunched from the front with ideal timing, Girmay had the legs to finish the job, holding off defending champion Milan Fretin with Dylan Groenewegen third. Moschetti, Bauhaus and a sixth-placed De Lie completed the top six, all credited with the same time.