Dario Giuliano finishes close to the podium and Samuel Novak 10th in Torredonjimeno
The under-23 team faced the sixth round of the Copa de España in the XL Clásica Ciudad de Torredonjimeno. Gabriele Raccagni arrived at the race as the best rider of the team, accompanied by a strong squad composed, among others, by Dario Giuliano (4th in Aiztondo) and Antonio Gonzalez (4th in Gorla). The race followed the expected pattern and a small group of riders arrived at the finish line in the lead. Dario Giuliano arrived in fourth position as the best cyclist of the team.
The race started with the usual attacks and breakaway attempts that took some time to develop. It was not until the 40th kilometre of the race that a breakaway of 13 riders managed to break away. Gabriele Raccagni was part of that group, which allowed the rest of the team to ride calmly in the peloton. The gap, slightly over a minute, was reduced and finally eliminated on the ascent to the Alto de Locubín (1st). At the top of the Alto de Locubín, Pablo García passed in first position, showing an offensive attitude, which was later replicated by the team. On the descent, a mechanical issue caused him to lose a lot of time. Manuel Sanroma gave him his bike, but he was practically eliminated from the race. Once the descent was over, the second and last climb of the day began without rest. On the Alto de Valdepeñas (2nd) two riders managed to open up an advantage. They were neutralised and the race was left with a reduced bunch where the team worked to keep alive the chances of victory.
In the final kilometres of the race, an advance group of seven riders formed that threatened the big group and the possible resolution of the sprint. Dario Giuliano managed to be on the group and keep the team’s chances intact. The gaps remained stable and finally, the group managed to impose itself on the bunch. Dario Giuliano came close to the podium and finished fourth, as he had done in Aiztondo. Samuel Novak showed great speed and finished third in the bunch, closing the top 10 of the race classification.
Samuel Novak finished in a superb 10th place: “We had a strong team for this race, so we were all very focused. Not everything went as planned, with some mechanical problems, but we managed to stay in the first group. In the final part there were a lot of attacks that Dario took advantage of and went for it. In the end, he finished fourth and I sprinted in a small bunch in which I got third place (10th)”.
Rafael Diaz Justo finished the race with satisfaction after the performance of his riders and with a view to the imminent Vuelta al Bidasoa. Bad luck once again affected two members of the team, eliminating them from the race, but the warning before the race of the possibility of a definitive cut that would form and reach the finish line as on other occasions meant that Dario was able to fight for the victory.
Dario Giuliano finished fourth and showed his great form in a race that was not the most suitable for his climbing skills: “It was the first race of the season where there were some quite long climbs during the first part of the race, I was quite calm before the important points. Then I was able to stand out on a small climb with about 25 kilometres to go. I reached the finish with six other riders and I’m satisfied with my fourth place. However, I’m still very close to the victory, but without being able to touch it, which bodes well for the future. Thanks to all my team-mates for controlling the race at the end”.
