“A very tough finish today, but the team worked very well throughout the day”

The Sierra Grande, an area of great faunistic richness, with human vestiges since prehistoric times and a link of centuries with the town of Hornachos, received this Saturday a Vuelta a Extremadura that did not live the best day for the interests of the U23 squad of the Contador Foundation, although it knew of the success of a boy who once went through both the Plaza Éboli School and the youth team. In the surroundings of the Fuente de los Moros, victory for Alejandro Luna (Froiz), defence of the leadership of Pablo Carrascosa (Finisher) with a one second margin over Thomas Silva (Caja Rural).

The breakaway, in short, triumphed in Hornachos, in a demanding, complex finish, with 500 metres of cobblestones and ramps of over 10%. A large breakaway, thirteen riders, was formed after the halfway point of a day that again had a frenetic start and a very lively pace, with averages close to 43 km / h in the first two hours.

The EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team, which started without Álex García who had to withdraw in the run-up, actively sought to filter riders in some of the numerous movements that took place and also worked at the front of the bunch to catch others. The breakaway was more than two and a half minutes inside the final twenty kilometres, at which point the peloton increased its pace and was also the scene of some acceleration, such as that of Fran Muñoz.

Arnau Gilabert (34th) was the first of the blue riders at the finish line, while shortly after came Andrea Montoli (45th). “It was a very hard finish today, I didn’t have the best legs to be further ahead. The climb was very hard for me. The team worked very well throughout the day, looking for presence in the cuts and setting the pace of the peloton for many moments. We have one day left and we will see if we can close the race in the best way”, said the Italian.

The Vuelta a Extremadura concludes this Sunday with an online stage between Ribera del Fresno and Jerez de los Caballeros that proposes two passes through the village of Feria and a lot of undulating terrain in the Sierra Suroeste region that, before an intricate and twisty finish, can break the race.