Fernando Tercero excels in the Portillo de Las Batuecas and finishes second in the queen stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a Salamanca
50 Vuelta Ciclista a Salamanca
Stage 2: Ledrada – La Alberca (146 km)
Fernando Tercero climbed up to the third position in the provisional general classification of the Vuelta a Salamanca this Saturday after finishing second in the very hard stage with finish in the town of La Alberca, preceded by the ascent to the Portillo de Las Batuecas. A performance that was the finishing touch to the great work of the whole team during the day. Mexican Edgar Cadena (Telco’m) won alone in this second stage and took the yellow jersey.
It was a complex stage orographically with three high points on a route that delved into the landscapes of the Sierra de Francia in the Sistema Central. From the start, the U23 structure of the Foundation managed to be present in the numerous breakaway of the day that was formed from the first stages and in which even the until today leader Pol Hervás, supported by two companions, rode in a very interesting exercise of anticipation.
Gabriele Raccagni joined a move completed by Álvaro García (Telco’m), Charles Beake, Pol Hervás and Matthew Watson (Brocar-Ale); Mikel Agirrebeitia and Joan Albert Riera (Baqué Team); Alejandro Gómiz (Froiz), Alex Hoehn (Dronne Hopper), Miguel Antón (Tenerife Bike Point), Lucas Towers and Steven Bayona (Previley); Lucas Simoes and Javier Ibáñez (Caja Rural); Fernando Santos and Julio Pérez (Escribano); Alberto Álvarez (Team Extremadura); Alejandro Rodríguez (Globalia) and Tobias Tanfield (Avimosa). The breakaway was selected in Endrinales, with Hervás or Raccagni giving way to the more climber riders. Twelve riders pulled ahead at that point with the peloton travelling at just over a minute at that point, at the pace set by the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team U23. On the Alto de Casas del Conde the breakaway continued to lose units.
Third, well supported by Fran Muñoz and Javi Serrano, managed the stretch of steep and long descent that followed until the start of the last and main difficulty of the day, the Portillo de Las Batuecas. There, the man from La Mancha made his move, selecting the fifteen riders who had been leading at the front. Saúl Burgos launched a first attack, then Edgar Cadena, both joined together at the final part of the summit and near the top Cadena moved to go solo while Tercero continued to climb at his own pace. In the end, after a dizzying descent with Burgos, Esteba and Pablo García, he crossed the finish line 40 seconds behind the winner.
