Antonio González, after his debut in Eibar: “The Valenciaga is a spectacular race”
Antonio González from Soria faces this 2022 his first year in the U23 category and on Sunday, due to circumstances, he ended up taking part in the Memorial Valenciaga in Eibar. The rider from Castilla-Leon was listed as a reserve for the race, but a cold left Italian Andrea Pietrobon at home. A ‘neo’ in the category in an iconic race.
“My legs still hurt,” he smiles, “I’m still tired after the beating, but the truth is that it was a spectacular day. The Valenciaga is a spectacular race. It neither lacks nor lacks hardness. But I would highlight both the route and the fans. You know that in the Basque Country the fans are incredible, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a WorldTour race or a cadet race. Yesterday was no exception, with a lot of people on the side of the road. And this year, as it hasn’t rained and it’s been very good, the scenery has been spectacular. The finish is very tough, but also very beautiful”.
Gonzalez comes from competing the last two seasons in the junior team of the Foundation, with which he won the overall of the Vuelta a Talavera in 2021. “I had seen the climb to Arrate many times on television, both in the Vuelta al País Vasco and in recent editions of the Valenciaga. I was convinced that it was going to be hard, let’s say that the route was what I expected… but it became much harder after all the hard work we did from the start of the race and on the approach to the pass”.
The rider from Soria highlights the work of the team during a big part of the race: “I think we did a great job, a very good job. The objective was to control the race as much as possible, avoiding dangerous breakaways, very numerous, with important people or from the front line teams. In that phase, in those initial hundred kilometres, I spent a lot. I got into a few breakaways, but none of them went beyond a skirmish. Arriving in Eibar before the first climb, the race was developing as we had planned”.
Gonzalez applauds Davide Piganzoli’s great race. “He rode a sensational Valenciaga. Piga flew. Then when I got home I was watching the race again and it was wonderful to see him ride. It was a pity he didn’t get the victory, especially because he had a very nice lead. But that’s how races are. We worked well at the back and Castrillo rode very strongly and won well”.
“People always talk about the great prestige of the Valenciaga and of course its reputation does it justice. In the end it was shown that the race is among the strongest. Not just anyone wins here, as we saw this Sunday and as we have seen in previous editions. It’s a race that if you win it you have a lot of options to move up to the pros. Personally I would love to have the chance to win this race one day. But for that to happen there is still a long way to go”, says González. He finished 101st, 16’35” behind the winner.
📡 #Valenciaga22. Finalmente Andrea Pietrobon no podrá tomar la salida este domingo en el Memorial Valenciaga @CCEibarres debido a un proceso gripal. Le sustituye @Anthony_cyclist González. #EOLOKOMETACyclingTeam #EOK22Dream #EquipoSub23 #CopaEspanaEliteSub23 pic.twitter.com/hJCSobgHN8
— FundContadorTeam (@FundContaTeam) April 8, 2022
[📷 Estel Bofill Xuclá ]
