Luca Bagnara finishes fifth in a final stage in Castellò with a turnaround in the general classification
Revolution in the final stage by the hand of a numerous breakaway, ten riders with representation of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team, who ended up fighting for the partial victory and sponsored a change in the definitive leadership. The Volta a Castelló 2023 closed with a vibrant stage in which Luca Bagnara fought for the victory, finishing finally fifth; a stage in which Daniel Cavia (Gomur) won and in which Gabriel Rodas (Caja Rural) took the definitive yellow jersey of the race by a matter of seconds.
The stage, short but peppered with several climbs, ended up with a vibrant battle between the breakaway and the peloton. After several attempts, always with the presence of the team led in Castellón by Isaac Cantón, a movement of ten riders finally crystallised after the Alto de La Coma. Among them, the aforementioned Cavia, Rodas, our Luca Bagnara and also Dani Jiménez and Alejandro Luna (Froiz), Jorre Debaele (Basso Team), Marc Dols and Ewan Warren (Brocar Ale) and Jan Castellón (Caja Rural) and Adrián Lozano (Valverde).
Their advantage would reach more than four minutes and although the race doubled its speed as far as the leader’s group was concerned on the climb to Desierto de las Palmas, the last difficulty of the day, the gap proved to be insurmountable in its entirety. Rodas would jump from twelfth to first place and given the presence in the breakaway of another well-placed rider such as Dani Jiménes, Raúl López finally dropped a couple of positions in the general classification to finish the race in eleventh place.
Luca Bagnara: “It was a very difficult stage to interpret because it had a climb shortly after the start and another very demanding one twenty kilometres from the end. From the start there were a lot of breakaway attempts and I tried to be there in order to get a head start on the Desierto de las Palmas. Finally, at that first pass, the breakaway was formed and we rode very strongly. Looking ahead to the finish, where we had seven or eight riders in the sprint, I tried to arrive as fresh as possible. In general, I am very satisfied with the condition I came out of the Vuelta in and with my performance in general. For me it was very important the incredible team spirit and the block mentality that we had at all times, we have a beautiful atmosphere and I think this also influences the good performance”.
Raúl López: “In the end, the important thing is that we have been there fighting for another day, this time with Luca, and we have been close to winning again. Luca’s presence at the front, in a group that was very willing to work hard to fight for the overall, allowed us to play the trump card of fighting with him. In Castellón we completed a good race and we have to keep working to achieve the results we are looking for. There will be more days and more opportunities to come, starting next weekend”.
[? @cxcling / @VoltaCastello ]
