“I have not found my rhythm at any time and it has been impossible for me to follow the leading group”
43º Tour de Hongrie
Stage 5: Miskolc–Gyöngyös-Kékestető (188 km)
Hungary’s top event, the Kékestetö, closed a very special edition of the Tour de Hongrie for the first time in its history, with the final victory going to the bag of the Hungarian WorldTour competitor Attila Valter (CCC), who won the stage. Márton Dina could not match his performance last year when he finished second, and suffered in the final climb. Dina finally finished the fifth stage on the 24th, 1:24 from the winner; in the overall final he finished the 21st, 1:51.
The finish line at the Kékestetö was going to solve the podium of this edition and the stage arrived with many riders just separated by a few seconds. The day was not lacking in escape attempts, all controlled by the rhythm imposed by Mitchelton-Scott or, in other measures, the CCC or the Jumbo-Visma. The last ten kilometres were reached with a head group rolling at a high pace imposed by the Dutch squad. In this group, which was progressively losing units, Márton Dina, Arturo Grávalos and Giacomo Garavaglia were holding out.
With the change of road, three kilometres to the end, came the strongest starts and, with them, a greater choice. Giacomo Garavaglia entered the Kékestetö turning very well positioned, among the first four positions, but his wheel was not Márton Dina and the Italian, looking back, tried to overtake him. It was there that the Australian Damien Howson (Mitchelton-Scott) moved, head of the race with several seconds of margin over about eight riders where Attila Valter was. The CCC rider would start to win with complete confidence and without opposition. Giacomo Garavaglia would be the first of the Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team riders to cross the finish line, 19th at 1:07.
Márton Dina: “I would have liked to have finished much further ahead. The very high pace that the Jumbo-Visma has set has taken its toll on me in the final part, when we changed roads to look for the summit. The truth is that I didn’t find my rhythm at any time and it was impossible for me to keep up with the pace of the leading group. I would like to congratulate Attila Valter for his victory in the general classification and in the stage. And I would like to thank the whole team for the great work they have done every day so that he arrived with the option of fighting for the overall in this last stage. They have done a fabulous job, it is wonderful to run in this team and I hope to be able to return this confidence very soon. The season is not over yet”.
“I’m feeling much better than I thought I would, I’ve been very close to the top ten in this area. Márton had asked me to be among the first in the last three kilometres, but when we entered them and I saw that he wasn’t coming I looked for him. Unfortunately there are also bad days. But as a team we moved very well throughout the race and we must be very proud of that role”, explained Giacomo Garavaglia. Fifth place for the Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team in the overall team final also underpins this reflection by the Italian cyclist.
Very interesting has been the overall performance of Arturo Grávalos. The young Spaniard, stagiaire in this race with the continental team, stayed in the leading group until the last five kilometres. At his own pace after the arrival of the attacks, the rider from La Rioja finished 33nd, very close to Márton Dina, and is leaving the Tour of Hungary with a 27th place finish in the overall, 2:21 from the yellow jersey.
Jesús Hernández, director of the Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team: “The Tour de Hongrie for us is always very special, as a Tour de France at the level of importance, we are obliged to be protagonists. This edition posed greater difficulties due to the presence of many World Tour and continental professional teams, especially with a view to revalidating the second place of Márton in the overall final. The starting point was clear: to have a presence in the race every day and to fight for a beautiful qualification. We managed to be in the breakaway in the first four stages, we also looked for our options to fight for a stage victory. In this fifth stage, we focused on protecting Márton in the face of the final climb, where the top teams have imposed their law. The team has done a great job throughout the race”.
? Vanik Zoltan / Mario Pertorini / Tour de Hongrie
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
