“You couldn’t afford a moment of relaxation because of the strong wind”
34th Vuelta a Castilla y León
Stage 1: Belorado-Castrojeriz (181 km)
The wind, and at times the rain, have been the main protagonists of the opening, this Thursday, of a new edition of the Vuelta a Castilla y León. In the last few days there has been talk about the absence of a time trial, a summit finish or a great mountain stage in this year’s route, but this first day’s route through the Burgos regions of La Bureba, El Alfoz de Burgos and Odra-Pisuerga was very demanding given the weather conditions and the evolution of the race in a layout that, nevertheless, included three mountain pass. A day where the young team of the Kometa Cycling Team could continue to gain experience in a situation not so usual given the intensity of such invisible adversity.
Between Belorado and Castrojeriz, where the Italian David Cimolai (Israel) finally won after the sanction imposed on Carlos Barbero of the ‘WorldTour’ Movistar formation, a lot of wind with its inherent dose of tension and also a lot of fighting within the margins that allowed the strong gusts of wind: the stage would leave after five hours of competition. “Of course it has been a very complicated day. You couldn’t afford a moment of relaxation because of the strong wind and when it rained it was very cold”, points out Juan Camacho. And Stefano Oldani goes deeper: “It has been a very special race. All day long, from the beginning, a lot of air, a lot, a lot”. The Italian finished thirteenth, 1:15 from the winner.
Under these climatic conditions the development of the first stage produced a leak, a large fan after its neutralization, many movements and a last cut fed by the telephone squad from which came the winner and first leader of the race. “It was on the last steep slope. Movistar has started to pull to the top in the final part and have cut the group. About ten riders have left, among them three or four from Movistar. Antonio Puppio, Juan Camacho and I fought to be there, but they were very strong and it was not possible; at the end we arrived in a second group, in whose sprint I was third”, explains Oldani.
“We were very attentive throughout the day and our legs responded well. When Movistar mounted this cut it wasn’t possible to take it”, adds Camacho, also a member of the second pack along with Antonio Puppio. After this first stage, the Kometa Cycling Team is in the fifth provisional position in the general team standings of the Vuelta a Castilla y León, tied on time with Delko-Marsella, which occupies fourth place.
The second stage this Friday, over 170.3 kilometres, joins the Palencia towns of Frómista and Villada. A day with great protagonism for the Region of Tierra de Campos, with its starting point in the vicinity of the beautiful church of San Martín de Tours, one of the icons of the Santiago´s Walk on Castilian-Leon soil, which will bid farewell to a platoon that will also transit next to the Canal de Castilla and pedal next to some churches of great architectural and historical value, such as Támara de Campos, Santoyo or Villalcázar de Sirga.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
