The talented field of riders in the Challenge Mallorca may be intimidating for some, but not for Stradalli-Bike Aid rider Daniel Bichlmann. In the first stage Bichlmann formed the breakaway which stayed away for the majority of the day.

Bradey Wiggins, former Tour de France winner with Team Sky, is racing in the Challenge Mallorca to prepare for Track Worlds, which takes place in London England. After Track Worlds, Wiggins will begin to focus on 2016 Rio Olympics coming this summer. He fully intends to win what would be his last Olympic Gold medal.

The high winds and open roads make this the perfect race for riders to get their legs for the new season. Wiggins is not the only high profile professional cyclist riding the Challenge Mallorca. Fabian Cancellara uses this race to get to a high level of fitness early in the year.

The Stradalli – Bike Aid riders are using the Challenge Mallorca as a springboard for a successful 2016 season and to get an idea of the team's strengths.

Stradalli-Bike Aid pro rider, Niko Holler uses the Challenge Mallorca to test his legs early in the season and compare his progress with some of the top riders in the world. Going up against world tour professionals early in the season allows riders to build a successful platform for later in the year.

The second stage of Challenge Mallorca, Trofeo Pollenca – Port de Andrax, Stradalli – Bike Aid rider Daniel Bichlmann successfully started the first good breakaway of the day that would stay clear for the majority of the stage.

A simple breakaway which began with 9 riders quickly turned into a large group of 32 that would remain clear until the closing kilometers of the stage. Timo Schafer successfully bridged across to form the large group of 32 which would stay in the clear for most of the race. The course had over 6,000 feet of elevation gain, but the bumps in the road didn’t prevent the top group from hunting down the breakaway and finishing the 162.6 kilometer stage in 3 hours 32 minutes.

The final group of riders included Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain, Alex Dowsett of Team Movistar and Niko Holler of Stradalli – Bike Aid finished the race a few minutes down on race winner Gianluca Brambilla of Etixx – Quick Step. Out of 168 starters, 109 finished the intense race day in Mallorca.

Michal Kwiatkowski, 2015 UCI Road Race World Champion, placed second for Team Sky. Zdenek Stybar, former UCI Cyclocross World Champion, finished on the podium in third place. The Challenge Mallorca continues with the 149.9 kilomteer Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana.

Good Start To Challenge Mallorca For Stradalli-Bike Aid

The start of the Challenge Mallorca went great for the Stradalli-Bike Aid team. French rider Damian hopped in the first breakaway of the day and rode strongly, but the peloton was not happy with that breakaway combination. They were immediately pulled back and the attacks started again. Stradalli-Bike Aid rider Daniel Bichlmann was in the third breakaway and seemed to have a chance to stay away before Lotto Soudal and Team Sky changed that.

On the final hill Team Sky and Lotto Soudal set a relentless pace at the front of the peloton to set up the finale. Soudal protected Andre Greipel in the final push which set him up for the sprint win with a lead out train. Sam Bennett of Bora – Argon 18 and Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Dimension Data rounded out the podium for a great day of competitive racing.

Tom Steinbacher, CEO of Stradalli Cycle, said he couldn’t be happier with how the team has performed in Mallorca thus far.

“We were competitive all day long. It was great to see the Stradalli-Bike Aid team stay competitive against some of the best teams in the world. It's not easy when you are going against teams like Movistar and Team Sky but we definitely held our own."

Being around impressive teams and talented riders is certainly an experience the Stradalli-Bike Aid riders are not taking for granted. Dominik Merseburg, the 24-year old first year pro is taking in as much as he can at Mallorca.

"It's pretty cool to ride next to Cancellara, Greipel and Wiggins. When you see them on the road you realize how amazing an opportunity you have in front of you and it's very humbling. I'm also very grateful for this awesome teammates I have, I couldn't ask for a better team."

The racing in Mallorca continues tomorrow with the 162.6 kilometer (101 miles) Trofeo Pollenca – Port de Andratx.

Stradalli – Bike Aid to start 25th Playa de Palma Challenge Ciclista Mallorca

Stradalli-Bike Aid will begin the Playa de Palma Challenge Ciclista Mallorca at 25th. There will be plenty of competition in the field with UCI World Tour teams; Team Sky, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, Francais de Jeux, Trek – Segrafredo and Movistar Team among some of the names.

Get The Same Bikes Used By The Stradalli-Bike Aid Conti Team

Looking for a new bike to race with next year? Why not use the same full carbon road bike used by the pros and it's available for less than $4,000! The Aversa is one of the best quality full carbon road bikes sold by Stradalli Cycle and is currently on sale for less than you would imagine.

Stradalli-Bike Aid Team Enjoys Training Day In Mallorca

Preparing for the UCI 1.1 Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca race is a lot of work but it also is a lot of fun, especially when you are doing it in beautiful Mallorca, Spain.

The Stradalli-Bike Aid conti team is currently training there in preparation for the upcoming race where they will compete against world tour teams including Team Sky, Trek-Segafredo, Movistar Team, Etixx-Quick Step, FDJ, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, Lotto Soudal, IAM Cycling.

Stradalli - Bike Aid Pro Cycling Team Enjoys Ride In Mallorca

The Stradalli - Bike Aid German Conti Team was able to take a ride around Mallorca, Spain in preparation for the UCI 1.1 Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca race.

The sites around the island are beautiful and the race will feature some of the toughest competition including Team Sky, Trek-Segafredo, Movistar Team, Etixx-Quick Step, FDJ, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, Lotto Soudal, IAM Cycling.

Stradalli-Bike Aid Heading To for Palma de Mallorca

Stradalli CEO Tom Steinbacher and execs left Miami airport heading for Palma de
Mallorca to join the Stradalli - Bike Aid conti team. 

The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca is 4 days of UCI 1.1 races around the island Mallorca off the coast of Spain. 

Tom and Peter will be arriving early for the pre-race press conference and photo
shoot leading up to the race.

The competition will be tough. 

Lining up alongside Stradalli - Bike Aid are World Tour teams with star
riders finding their feet for racing in 2016. Lotto Soudal will be present
with a full team Andre Greipel and Jurgen Roelandts. Trek - Segafredo will
be present with a full team including Fabian Cancellara and Frank Schleck.
Team Sky, Movistar and Cannondale Pro Cycling Team will also be present with
top riders. 

The Tour of Majorca began in 1992 and is world renowned for being the biggest race
for professional riders to find their early season form. 

Past winners of the general classification include Alex Zulle, Alejandro Valverde and Philippe
Gilbert. 

Stradalli - Bike Aid is currently racing and having success in the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and have found their way to the podium. The Tour of Majorca will be only the
second of over 100 UCI races for Stradalli - Bike Aid in 2016.