Fabian Rabensteiner and Samuele Porro win in Jaén. Seewald and Stutzmann new leaders.

Janina Wüst and Rosa Van Doorn, win with authority in the women's category and are placed leaders with a juicy difference.

The Jaén Cathedral presided over the start of the first of the two stages of the Andalucía Bike Race that start from the capital of Jaén. The stage, with 64.79 kilometres and 2,227 metres of elevation gain, started with cool temperatures, with the atmosphere getting cooler as the hours passed and the demanding trails of the day were climbed.

At the Mirador de Siete Pilillas, on the first climb of the day, Canyon Sidi MTB Team riders Andreas Seewald and Marc Stutzmann started the hostilities setting a demanding pace that fragmented the lead group.

Fabian Rabensteiner, number 1 in the UCI XCM rankings, and his Wilier-Vittoria team-mate Samuele Porro kept up the challenge set by Seewald and Stutzmann. A few seconds behind, the GC leaders, Buff Megamo's Wout Alleman and Hans Becking held their own with the pair of Daniel Geismayr (Wilier-Vittoria) and Jakob Dorigoni (Torpado Kenda Factory).

The equality between the first two teams was maintained until the finish arch of the Olivo Arena in Jaén. Rabensteiner and Porro (Wilier-Vittoria) beat Seewald and Stutzmann (Canyon Sidi MTB TEAM) by less than a second. "There were a lot of slippery rocks on the stage and that was challenging for me and Fabian, especially on the third climb, but we like a challenge. That's where the race started to define itself and with the two pairs we made it to the finish". In third place, 1'21" behind, came Geismayr and Dorigoni.

The second place of the Canyon Sidi MTB Team riders made them the new leaders at the expense of Alleman and Becking (Buff Megamo). "At the moment, it's a very interesting race in the general classification. There are several teams within a short distance of each other. Yesterday was a very short stage in which we were very close together, and today was a tough day, with many changes of leader, with a tight finish in which we were able to take the lead by 8 seconds".

In the women's race, Allebike riders Lejla Njemčević and Terese Andersson took a narrow lead over the Buff Megamo Team of Janina Wüst and Rosa Van Doorn. The tables turned midway through the stage, with Wüst and Van Doorn neutralising Njemčević and Andersson, and they reached the finish with a lead of 3’54” over the Allebike team.

This advantage gave Wüst and Van Doorn the lead in the general classification. Third place on the podium went to Txell Figueras and Claudia Peretti (Cannondales ISB), who gave up first place in the overall classification.

At the finish, the winners commented on the key moment of the stage: "On the last climb, which was very technical, we were closing the gap to the leaders. When we saw them at the top, we saved our energy to attack.”

STAGE 2 RESULTS- ELITE UCI MEN'S CATEGORY

Fabian Rabensteiner – Samuele Porro WILIER-VITTORIA 02:59:10

Andreas Seewald - Marc Stutzmann CANYON SIDI MTB TEAM 02:59:10

Daniel Geismayr WILIER-VITTORIA - Jakob Dorigoni TORPADO KENDA FACTORY 03:00:32

OVERALL RESULTS- ELITE UCI MEN'S CATEGORY

Andreas Seewald - Marc Stutzmann CANYON SIDI MTB TEAM 03:49:08

Fabian Rabensteiner – Samuele Porro WILIER-VITTORIA 03:49:15

Jakob Dorigoni TORPADO KENDA FACTORY - Daniel Geismayr WILIER-VITTORIA 03:50:37

STAGE 2 RESULTS- ELITE UCI WOMEN'S CATEGORY

Janina Wüst - Rosa Van Doorn BUFF MEGAMO 03:51:44

Lejla Njemčević - Terese Andersson ALLEBIKE TEAM 03:55:39

Txell Figueras – Claudia Peretti CANNONDALE ISB 03:57:04