Fernando Tercero, in the fight for the victory in the Subida a Gorla: seventh
XLVI Gorlako Igoera / Subida a Gorla
Bergara – Gorla (121,3 km)
Fernando Tercero from La Mancha finished seventh in the prestigious Subida a Gorla. The Gipuzkoa event, which was held again after last year’s mandatory break due to the pandemic and the breakdown, had the presence of four riders of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team, was decided in the final climb and the victory went to the Basque Asier Etxeberria.
An edition marked by the neutralisation caused by a big crash that took place around the 30th kilometre and by the subsequent cut of kilometres. With the elimination of some 20 kilometres, the race was finally held over 98.3 kilometres. Until that crash, in which Fernando Tercero was involved, there was a lot of pace and a lot of movement.
#SubidaGorla. Después de una neutralización temporal de la prueba tras una numerosa caída, la carrera se vuelve a poner en marcha. Se acorta el recorrido en una veintena de kilómetros. #EOLOKOMETACyclingTeam #GorlaIgoera pic.twitter.com/NXrJtmIYrd
— FundContadorTeam (@FundContaTeam) March 28, 2021
With the restart a new race began and the first pass through Gorla came quite fast. There, some movements took place and Arnau Gilabert was also in charge of moving in that phase of the race. At the base of the second and final ascent to Gorla, a group of around fifty riders arrived. There, Álex Martín suffered a puncture, which forced him to start the climb 300 metres behind the front. A distance that he could no longer neutralise, despite the great work of Arnau Gilabert, due to the succession of attacks in front.
#SubidaGorla. Un vídeo del descenso de Elosua donde vemos en acción a Arnau Gilabert. #GorlakoIgoera #TorneoAbiatzen
[📽️ @acrucelegui_pro] pic.twitter.com/ABeBit1lve— FundContadorTeam (@FundContaTeam) March 28, 2021
Fernando Tercero managed to get away with Asier Zafra and Unai Iribar, but the Laboral Kutxa riders played the cards of numerical superiority and the rider from La Mancha ended up going into crisis to end up neutralised by the four immediate pursuers, who were a dozen seconds behind. Mario Vilches finished two minutes behind, twenty-third.
Fernando Tercero: “As they say, it was a paint-and-plate crash, luckily. In the end the Laboral Kutxa riders made their superiority count, alternating attacks, and in the end they both took off. Behind us there was a small group of riders in which Imanol Álvarez stood out to finish third and we played the rest of the positions in the sprint”.
“Seventh place is not enough for us, but we couldn’t have done more. I’m still wondering what Álex could have done if he hadn’t broken down at the bottom of the climb. Starting 300 metres behind with the race underway is a big handicap, really difficult to overcome”, concludes director Rafa Díaz Justo.
[📷 Federación Vasca de Ciclismo (1-3); Unai Demi (4)]
