Alejandro Ropero, third in the Trophy Guerrita: “We are stuck in the ointment”

Trofeo Guerrita
Alcantarilla-Alcantarilla (155 km)

Barcelona’s Kiko Galvan became the new leader of the Elite and U23 Spanish Cup after imposing his top speed this Sunday within the small group of about thirty units that played the victory of the second round of the tournament, the Trofeo Guerrita de Alcantarilla. The Granada Alejandro Ropero was highlighted as the great trick of the Kometa Cycling Team facing the fight for the title with a brilliant third place on Murcian soil.

In a revamped edition of the Guerrita, with double passage through the Alto de la Perdiz as great orographic difficulties, the vanguard of the race fell into an escape of which would highlight the British Fergus Robinson (Zappi) during the first of the two climbs. Hunted later, after getting to roll with more than three minutes of advantage, in the last ascent Eusebio Pascual (Caja Rural) stood out at the head of the race.

The bet of Alicante rider incited back the work of the team Lizarte and Kometa in front of a small group of about twenty units, survivors of the second pass through La Perdiz. In the terrain to Alcantarilla that group header, with the presence of four riders of the Kometa Cycling Team (Ropero, Perez-Landaluce, Martin and Carlos Garcia) would grow to thirty units. In the sprint, Galvan would beat Daniel Avellaneda and Ropero, a runner always fast in small groups.

The bad news of this edition of the Trophy Guerrita for the interests of the Kometa Cycling Team came from the hand of Sergio Garcia. The Cadiz suffered a fall during the first descent that forced him to retire to be taken to a hospital. “I was overtaking a rider in a right-hand bend, I was overtaken from the outside, he was opening up and ended up throwing me into the gutter. We would roll at about 50 km/h at that moment. The important thing is that I have nothing broken,” says Garcia, who suffers two dislocations in his elbow and hip right.

Alejandro Ropero, third in Guerrita: “I looked pretty good. I passed without problems both times the Alto de La Perdiz and the team was sensational facing the finish line. Both Álex Martín and Edu Pérez-Landaluce closed all the people’s gaps as they started. In the end I was able to get into the sprint; although I stayed a little closed, I ended up scratching this third place that feels very good. But it also leaves a taste of wanting more. We are in the ointment. In a few days we have to push harder to keep on competing”.

Rafa Diaz Justo, director of the U23 team: “The course was quite demanding, but the evolution of the race was quite rare. The teams that have something to say about the fight for the general opted not to move almost to the end, which allowed a couple of numerous leaks that were in the lead for quite some time. Lizarte carried the weight of the race and we collaborated with them in the last part of the race for a sprint where Ropero finished third. We hope, on the other hand, that Sergio has a good and fast recovery”.

The Spanish Cup is speeding up and in one week the third race will take place. The event is heading north to the Basque Country, where the Aiztondo Klasika will be held next Sunday.

(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)