José Antonio García wins the second stage of the Vuelta a Zamora
XXXV Vuelta a Zamora
Stage 2: Villanueva del Campo – Castroverde de Campos (144 km)
He had been fighting a success of this caliber and ended up arriving this Wednesday in Zamora. The Spaniard José Antonio García imposed his top speed in the second stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a Zamora, with a final in the town of Castroverde de Campos after 144 kilometres. The fast man from Polartec-Kometa beat Miguel Ángel Alcaide (Escribano), José Daniel Viejo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Jaume Sureda (Caja-Rural-Seguros RGA) and the leader of the race Francisco García Rus (GS Sport), in the sprint of a small group of a dozen units.
The second day of the race in Zamora was marked by a runaway of ten riders that, consolidated in the second third of the day, achieved an advantage of up to two minutes and maintained a tremendous pulse with the main pack. Polartec-Kometa’s Colombian John Stiven Ramírez joined the breakaway, who would temporarily become second overall.
Up to four teams would work together to bring down the leak, a neutralization that did not materialize until the race was heading for its last ten kilometers. Once all its members had been hunted, several cuts were made at the head of the race that would end up highlighting a group of twelve units in which, as the only representation of the Polartec-Kometa,’coló’ José Antonio García. Joselillo, ninth to 19 seconds behind the leader, is the best classified of the Madrid formation in the general classification.
“Just before the fugitives were caught, the teams pulling the squad opened a fan. Jonny [Martí Bennassar] and [Daniele] Cantoni did a great job to leave me in front, well positioned, and in the end we were about eleven riders or so with a majority of representatives from the Caja and Froiz. In front of the finish line, they prepared the sprint for Viejo and I opened to the left. It was a sprint of strength, because there was a lot of air coming in. And nothing, he finally arrived, we were looking for him. And super happy,” says Garcia himself.
“That break, in which we were counting on John’s performance, gave us peace of mind. But for many teams it was an uncomfortable escape, especially because of the two-minute rental. We’re in a five-day race, but then there’s not as much ground to take away all that time either. When the breakaway was finally caught, ten yards from the finish line, the wind factor came into play. Caja Rural and a few other teams moved and fortunately Joselillo was able to get into the group. On that side I’m very happy, but on the other side that cut has made us lose the general classification a little, because among those twelve cyclists there were two or three fit riders who are good climbers, such as the recent winner in Ávila Iván Martínez. We’re gonna have to play our cards to position ourselves. We’re not gonna stop moving. If it can’t be because of the general classification, then at least we can achieve some more stage”, reflects the director Rafa Díaz Justo.
This Thursday the stage will link the towns of Rabano and Figueruela de Arriba over 123.9 kilometres and with the third category Alto de Moldones, ten kilometres from the finish line. It will not be the only port of the day: the Altos de Figueruela, San Blas and Viñas, on two occasions, will harden this day of difficult terrain.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
