BARCELONA, Spain — Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the Tour of Catalonia for the second consecutive year after his closest competitor fell near the end of Sunday’s final stage in Barcelona. Valverde cruised to victory after Egan Bernal of Colombia crashed with less than 10 kilometres (6 miles) to go in the 155-kilometre (96-mile) stage won by Simon Yates of Britain. “We started the season the best possible way,” said Valverde, a three-time champion in the Tour of Catalonia. Bernal, who entered the final stage 16 seconds behind Valverde, fell out of contention after he couldn’t avoid contact with another rider who fell just in front of him. I wanted to try to get on the podium but I fell a little bit short.”The 37-year-old Valverde won two stages in this year’s Tour of Catalonia.

Source: National Post March 25, 2018 13:22 UTC