Fernando Tercero assaults the provisional leadership of the Volta a Galicia by winning in Manzaneda Mountain Station
XX Volta a Galicia
Stage 3: Manzaneda – Manzaneda Estación de Montaña (114 km)
Fernando Tercero, from La Mancha, third classified in the last edition, took the lead of the Volta a Galicia 2022 this Saturday after winning with great brilliance the third fraction of the Galician round, the queen stage, with finish in Manzaneda Estación de Montaña. A short stage, but with more than 3,000 metres of positive vertical drop, which produced important differences. Third faces this Sunday the final stage with a cushion of one minute over the Mexican Edgar Mesa (Telco’m).
The rider from Valdepeñas The rider from Valdepeñas, who tightened up the race on the previous descent, went on the attack in the early moment of the final climb, within the last twelve kilometres, and only the Colombian Eli Saúl Burgos (Telco’m) was able to follow in his wake. At that moment, Asturian Yago Segovia (Gomur) was leading the stage, who had reached the front of the race catapulted from one of the previous movements that took place in a day with many offensives with a second tactical reading.
Segovia, who went over the top of the very hard Soutipedre (six kilometres of narrow, irregular climb, but two over 9%) with about 2’30”, was soon caught by Tercero and Burgos. Behind, a quartet was formed with American Barri Miler (Rias Baixas), Edgar Cadena (Telco’m), David Delgado (Team Extremadura) and Gabriel Rodas (Caja Rural).
#VoltaGalicia22. Fernando Tercero, afrontando los últimos kilómetros de la ascensión a @Manzaneda_EM, final de la etapa reina de la carrera @F_Gal_Ciclismo.
[📽️ @emesports: https://t.co/VjdPT81sVS] #EOLOKOMETACyclingTeam #EquipoSub23 #Etapa3 pic.twitter.com/0VnSsrgOGf— FundContadorTeam (@FundContaTeam) September 17, 2022
In the last five kilometres, Tercero launched a new attack in which he managed to stand out alone. From that moment on, always looking for his best rhythm, the rider from Castilla-La Mancha would pedal for a third victory of the season that could bring, as it did, the yellow jersey of the race.
“It’s a victory for the whole team. All my team-mates have done an excellent job every day, they are working hard for me and that’s why this victory is theirs”, explains Fernando Tercero. “They deserved it. Personally, I came with the thorn in my side from Salamanca, where the team did a fabulous job and I couldn’t finish it off, I had that bad taste in my mouth. Achieving this victory had become a small goal for them. I knew that Burgos was going to be a very tough rival, so I focused on climbing at my own pace, regulating, calm because I knew I had a small margin with him in the general classification. Rafa, the director, knows the climb well, and he had told me where I had to push harder. His support has given me a lot of peace of mind and this victory is also his, because with his strategies the results also come”.
This Sunday the Volta a Galicia will conclude in Ponteareas with a not easy stage in which again the climbs will have a lot of protagonism. Fernando Tercero is more than a minute ahead of Edgar Cadena (Telco’m) and Eli Saúl Burgos (Telco’m). “We will face the last stage with the conviction that it will be another very difficult stage. The Galician territory always presents ambushes and controlling the races is never easy. The team is very, very strong and I hope to be up to the task. I’m confident that I can make it through the day, but we can’t claim victory until we cross the last finish line”, Tercero concluded.
[📷 Álvaro García / Federación Gallega de Ciclismo]
