Arturo Grávalos, the most combative under the deluge

35º Giro del Medio Brenta
Villa del Conte – Gállio (171,6 km)

A peculiar, complicated day. It started with 30° and ended with 15°, it started with the hopes of a good result and ended with our Gravalos awarded as the most combative of the race. That’s how the 35th Giro del Medio Brenta went to the archives, with the victory of Didier Merchán and Bais arriving in the small group of the first ones. Just Gravalos was the most active of ours, protagonist of the four-man breakaway and able to detach everyone on the climb of the day. In the final, on the challenging circuit made even more complicated by the heavy rain, the decisive action that awarded Merchán on Mulubrhan and Raccani.

Sergio García: “The feeling was very good until it started to rain. We were about 30 riders in front, no more. But when it started to rain, it started to rain a lot, and my legs got stiff. I had cramps and I couldn’t continue in that first group. At the end it was very cold. The final circuit was a leg breaker, although it went quickly. The final climb had some very grippy parts”.

Arturo Grávalos: “I’m very happy with how the day went. I had good legs throughout the race and I was able to get into the good breakaway. We were 2’45” ahead of the peloton, but the first big climb started at kilometre 109 and we were only 36 seconds behind. There were 19 kilometres of climbing, so I decided to start from the bottom, set my own pace and insist: I managed to open up a lead of up to a minute, but with about 2.5 kilometres to go, they caught me. Then I went down to the car to get some salt and water for my companions, I gave them some supplies and I stayed in the main group, but I pushed hard all the way to the finish line. The prize for combativeness is nice, it’s always the reflection of a fight, of a struggle, even if it wasn’t possible to win. Our essence as a team is to always fight. And that is what we will continue to do”.

#GiroDelMedioBrenta21. Our @Arturogravalos on the podium as the most combative rider of the race. #EOLOKOMETACyclingTeam #GiroMedioBrenta pic.twitter.com/2yDS3Jrw2g

— EoloKometaCyclingTeam (@EoloKometaTeam) July 4, 2021