'I was very lucky to save it' - Wellens survives late scare to win Clásica Jaén

Another bike race, another UAE Team Emirates-XRG victory. It’s still early, of course, but the 2026 season seems to be following the same pattern as last year. 

After Isaac del Toro scorched to victory on the opening stage of the UAE Tour earlier in the day, his teammate Tim Wellens soloed to an emphatic victory at the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior on Monday afternoon, bringing the team’s running tally of wins for the new year to twelve.

Speaking to CyclingProNet at the finish, Wellens suggested that UAE had mimicked the approach of QuickStep in Classics campaigns past. On a race punctuated by rough stretches of gravel and punchy climbs, the strategy was to ensure there was always a UAE man at the front.

Wellens stuck out early, and once he distanced a spirited Mark Donovan (Pinarello-Q36.5), he would solo 54km to the finish, while teammates Jan Christen, Benoit Cosnefroy and Igor Arrieta policed affairs behind.

“I think the tactic was clear,” Wellens said. “We were here with a very strong team, and we needed to use the team, so we wanted to have someone always in front so the others could stay at the back and not have to chase, so I went pretty early. I had good legs.”

Wellens looked a likely winner from the moment he forged clear with Donovan, though he was briefly put on the back foot when the Briton attacked him on a gravel incline. That act of defiance, however, would only prove to be the cue for Wellens’ race-winning attack.

“I had to suffer a little bit to drop Mr Donovan,” Wellens smiled. “He hurt me, but then I kept my tempo. He came quite close, but I could push my watts and had a really good feeling.”

In truth, Wellens always appeared in control of the situation, and he was content to allow Donovan punch himself out before he launched his definitive move.

“I didn’t want to put the lactate in the legs, I wanted him to suffer a little bit as well, so it was a good tactic,” Wellens said of his decision not to respond immediately. “I knew it was very far from the finish, so I couldn’t go all out. I was happy he attacked so he could suffer a little bit.”

From there, Wellens quickly built a lead of a minute over a group where his teammate Christen could mark Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), and he would come home 48 seconds clear of the chasers. Pidcock won the sprint for second, while Christen was disqualified for his part in Maxim Van Gils’ crash in the finishing straight. 

Wellens had endured a late scare of his own before then, when he skidded on a downhill gravel sector with 16km to go, scraping his foot along the ground in order to keep himself upright.

“In my head, I was already flinching my muscles to anticipate the crash because I thought I was going down,” Wellens said. “In the end, I was very lucky to save it, because in my head I was already on the ground suffering.”