A lot of attention to the cuts caused by the wind in the antechamber of the Cantabrian mountain
XXX Vuelta Ciclista a León
Stage 1: San Cristóbal de la Polantera – Veguellina de Órbigo (112 km)
Close, very close; only ten kilometers separate the towns of San Cristóbal de la Polantera and Veguellina. But for this Vuelta a León, in a journey along the fertile plain of the River Tuerto and the banks of the Órbigo, the journey lasted 112 hours of tension and vigilance. The first day in line of the Leonese round gave the triumph to the sprint of the burgalés Angel Fuentes, already winner on Monday of the night prologue. And the appearance of the wind in the moors generated some other race situation in which the riders of the Kometa Cycling Team were very active.
Some warning happened before but in the end it happened around kilometre 70. The wind was blowing and the pack was cut in several groups. In front, up to twenty-three cyclists. Gomur put in up to five riders, while Carlos García, Sergio García, Alessandro Fancellu and Alejandro Ropero gave presence to the U23 team of the Alberto Contador Foundation. The day was to be attentive and to avoid setbacks derived from possible fans and the runners of the Kometa were to the height.
That cut fed some uncertainties in the main squad. It would take more than a minute and a half, but the Lizarte teams, represented in front by Francisco Galván, and Froiz set to work to bring it down. In the avant-garde there were a few starts. In one of them the Kazakh Shatovkin, of the UCI team, stood out alone for several kilometers. His hunt was the prelude to the sprint. All team members came with the pack, except Alex Martin, who gave 2:59. Alessandro Fancellu finished eleventh in the ‘volata’.
“It was a very bad day, very flat and windy. We had to close a lot of gaps and be in a lot of cuts. I was one of those who was able to take that good cut. It seemed like the good one, of course, but several teams didn’t want to pass and left us all the responsibility. In the end the platoon would end up taking us. I insisted with three other riders, but we were already hunted at four of the end. It’s been a shame that all that work today has not been rewarded, but now come very hard days,” explains Carlos Garcia.
Facing this Wednesday, a etapon without palliatives. First day of mountain in this Vuelta a León, with a route that, between the towns of Cármenes and Boca de Huérgano, chains the climbs to the Port of Las Señales, Panderrueda and Pandetrave. This last mountain pass, which is faced from the valley of Valdeón, is crowned a little more than twenty kilometres to the end.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
📸 Vuelta a León
