The Maestrat mountain tightens a overall where David Domínguez, Javi Serrano and Ramón Fernández are involved
39ª Volta a Castellón
Stage 2: Grau de Castelló – Vistabella del Maestrat (139,5 km)
Great group performance of the U23 team of the Contador Foundation in the demanding Volta a Castellón. This Saturday in its queen stage, 135 kilometres with a high finish and more than 2,800 meters of accumulated elevation gain, David Domínguez fought for the partial victory with the British Oliver Knight (Aix-en-Provence), ultimately winner of the stage and new leader of the race. Ramón Fernández and Javi Serrano rounded off the performance, third and fourth at the finish in Vistabella del Maestrazgo. The three of them make an important leap in the provisional general classification, in which Domínguez, Serrano and Fernández are second, third and fourth respectively before the last stage on Sunday.
The battles between the breakaways and the peloton always provide great spectacles. Vibrant cycling, the kind of cycling that makes you fall in love. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the flat with the prospect of a sprint or on a medium or high mountain course. Such is the case this Saturday in the Volta a Castellón, where a breakaway of ten riders that gradually broke away as the kilometres went by and the pressure of the main group led the race until the penultimate climb. Asturian Ramón Fernández was one of those protagonists. The Oviedo-born rider, who is in great form and already on the way to the hotel, said that his legs and sensations were good.
Fernández rode many kilometres with Pablo García, Jaume Guardeño and Gabriel Rodas (Caja Rural), Antoine Devanne and Brieuc Rolland (Vendee), Tane Rotem (Israel), Joan Riera (Baqué) and Pablo Castresana (Lizarte). Between two minutes and two minutes and a margin that remained constant as the kilometres went by. On Benafigós, the penultimate climb, García and Devanne held on at the front with a dwindling advantage over a group of illustrious riders, no more than thirty riders. On the final climb the breakaway finally came to an end and two ‘caja rural’ riders, Abel Balderstone and Gabriel Rodas reopened hostilities. But in the last 4 km there was a new regrouping at the same time that the leader until today, the Israeli Roi Weinberg, suffered. With two kilometres to go, Wright started up and Domínguez went after him.
“The truth is that I’m very happy with today, even though we were very close to victory and it wasn’t possible: we’re on the podium in the provisional general classification and this Sunday we’re going to try to improve on that. Now we’re going to try to recover as much as possible for tomorrow, which I’m sure will be a tough battle for the stage and to take the overall where there are three riders from the team in the top four”, says David Domínguez during the transfer to the hotel.
This Sunday the 2022 edition of the Volta a Castellón closes with a stage that starts and finishes in the provincial capital. A stage of 135 kilometres that presents terrain to move the race, since twenty kilometres from the end the Desierto de las Palmas (7 km at 5%) is crowned. And the general classification is wide open. Knight leads with a two-second advantage over Domínguez, and seven seconds over Serrano and Fernández. Up to fifteen riders are less than 48 seconds behind the Briton.
📷 @cxcling / Volta Castellón (1, 3), Ana Domínguez (2)
