Larsen, Grávalos, Garavaglia and Seville, protagonists of the first day of the Tour de Hongrie
43º Tour de Hongrie
Stage 1: Esztergom-Esztergom (118 km)
The Tour of Hungary started this Saturday and did it with a lot of prominence by the Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team. Dane Mathias Larsen was part of the breakaway, initially nine riders and finally seven, who were formed in the first kilometres and were definitively neutralised within the last twenty-five kilometres of the race. The Spaniard Arturo Grávalos, stagiaire in this race, showed his cheek by attacking on the ramps of the last pass through the Dobogókó. The Italian Giacomo Garavaglia was involved in a very interesting movement that took place on the last ramps and the descent and he ran the last kilometres with a twenty second margin. The Spaniard Diego Pablo Sevilla, finally, fought in the massive sprint to sign the final seventh place. The victory and the first leader’s jersey went to the bag of the Spaniard Ion Aberasturi (Caja Rural).
For Seville, a habitual of the breaks, that of this volata is its better classification of the season and comes to put on the table the top of speed that exhibited in the inferior categories. “We know the arrival well from other years, it bites a bit up and gets hard. It is important to enter well placed. Our initial trump card was Giacomo’s, but after his attack after the port we were unable to reposition him and we had the option of fighting in the finish. It’s a nice result, no doubt, but in general the whole stage has been a nice result. We are looking forward to it, even more so after the last news, and we want to leave our mark on this Tour of Hungary”.
Giacomo Garavaglia, who crowned in third place the last pass over the top of the Dobogókó after Attila Valter (CCC) and Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma): “The idea was to be very attentive in the last climb and it was like that. I felt very good on my legs. The group was very interesting. It lacked a Trek-Segafredo rider so that this team did not work so much behind, but the important thing was to try it. You have to be happy. In general the team has been very good all day. Tomorrow a new opportunity returns”. Arturo Grávalos, for his part, contributed about his first day with the professionals: “I worked on the flat to position Márton well, but then on the climb I felt pretty good and I tried it out. I made a hole, but on a false flat they caught me again. Even so, I was very happy”.
Marton Dina, eighteenth in the sprint, took the podium to pick up the white jersey in his capacity as the first Hungarian cyclist of the first stage. The rider from Budapest, well supported by his teammates, saved a first stage well in which both Diego Pablo Sevilla and Arturo Grávalos supported him in the final part: “The work of the team was exceptional, all the teammates helped me a lot. It was a day to avoid problems, but I am very happy with the result. And also for Diego, who made a great finish”.
This Sunday the Tour of Hungary faces a second stage of 158 kilometres practically flat between Debrecen and Hajdúszoboszló in which the protagonist of its development will very possibly be again in the pulse between the adventurers and the teams with interests in the massive finish.
? Vanik Zoltan / Mario Pertorini / Tour de Hongrie
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
