Daniel Viegas is on the verge of winning the Vuelta a Navarra race

Vuelta a Navarra
Stage 5: Aoiz-Pamplona (93.8 km)

The Portuguese Daniel Viegas caressed the victory in the fifth and last stage of the Vuelta a Navarra, with the final in Pamplona. The Polartec-Kometa Portuguese cyclist finished second behind Julen Amarika (Telco´m), with whom he arrived on the run after a passionate battle with the pack in the last few kilometres. The Italian Francesco Romano (Colpack) won the final overall, where Carlos Garcia Pierna stayed in eighth place. Although in this last day he attacked looking for the surprise.

In a short last fraction, with a dizzying start again, there was a four-run runaway in which the Portuguese Viegas gave the Polartec-Kometa U23 a presence. The passage through Etxauri highlighted Viegas and Amarika in the lead, who then started an interesting pulse with the pack. “It was impossible, with just 20 seconds at the port, with 15 kilometers ahead of us, but also with the Caja Rural and the leader’s team pulling up at some point, but they have arrived. No doubt that they are two very good time trialists has had a lot to do with their success”, said Rafa Díaz Justo.  The combativeness of the day was the consolation prize for the great work done by the Portuguese.

“The overall balance is pretty good, I ended up quite happy with the sensations I had and seeing such good people competing. But I’m left with the thorn in my side of the side from the queen stage, where I think I could have done quite well. It was a tough stage and bad luck played against us. I gave everything and at least I was able to keep what I had. I tried today, but the leader was very close and didn’t give me any room. You have to keep the positive, with those good feelings and keep working. And of course I’m very grateful for all the help the team has given me. They were incredible”, explains Carlos Garcia. “In my first year in the category and seeing myself in front of it is incredible for me. I suffered a lot, but I also enjoyed it”.

Rafa Díaz Justo, team director: “We have touched the crossbar. We wish we could have won, but this is very difficult, there are many of them and only one wins. The approach was more than just the stage of getting someone in before the port with a view to a move with Carlos from behind. The idea was to look for some sort of improvement in the ranking. The problem is that the ports on the side they climbed were not very hard. When Carlos pulled out, the leader wouldn’t let him. He was strong and went for it. Daniel’s stage was brilliant and this gives us a good feeling and motivates us for the Vuelta a Coruña, where Viegas will be part of the team”.

(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)