“It has been very hard, but it has been spectacular”, concludes an outstanding Giro Baby for the Kometa Cycling Team
42º Giro d´Italia Giovani Under 23
Stage 9: Agordo – Passo Fedaia (39.9 km)
The Giro Baby closed this Sunday with a demanding stage with a finish in La Marmolada. And not so much because of the size of the finish line, in one of the mythical enclaves of this sport, but because of its short mileage and the high rhythm that, given the previous days and the proposed route, was easy to intuit. Another very fast and very disputed stage, at the end. And another stage with a lot of Colombian protagonism, with four riders of this nationality in the first four positions: Einer Rubio won and placed second in the general classification, his compatriot Andrés Camilo Ardila endorsed his victory in the classification and Juan Diego Alba climbed to the third podium. In this context, Sergio García finished 25th, just over four minutes away and finally finished the race in 18th place. A very meritorious 18th place.
“The objective was to hold on to the maximum with the leaders, trying to reach the last five kilometres in which the hardest part of this port was concentrated. From then on, the question was to go at one’s own pace. In the last three kilometres I’ve been through hell, I’ve suffered a lot, but I’ve been able to resist”, explains Sergio García. Carlos García, Arturo Grávalos, Edu Pérez-Landaluce and Jhon Stiven Ramírez wrapped up their team-mate to the maximum. “It was very, very hard. But it has been spectacular”, says the Asturian as a balance of the passage through the Italian race.
“Yes, it has been a beautiful and hard experience. There were good moments and others not so good. But these experiences are unique to be able to continue learning”, says Carlos García. “After three very bad days both physically and mentally after the fall during the Passo Maniva stage, today I was able to turn my body a little bit. I felt better and I was able to be a little further ahead on a hard day”.
In the general classification, Pérez-Landaluce finished 33rd, Carlos García 38th and Ramírez y Grávalos finished 64th and 65th. The Kometa Cycling Team under 23 was the sixth formation in the team classification, a position that condenses, reveals and clarifies the great group role of the Alberto Contador Foundation squad on Italian roads.
Rafa Diaz Justo, director of the Kometa Cycling Team: “Last day and last day of extreme hardness. Sergio has been in the site of the last few days defending that great position that he has achieved through suffering after having suffered a mishap on the day of the sterrato that cost him a time that would have allowed him to be later with total security. The general summary is to be happy, we came with a team without experience for ten days run the toughest international test in the world. The boys have broken all their records of extreme hardness during so many days, of distance… It is a great learning for them and this is not just any race”.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
📸 Andrew Peat
