Bennassar and Fancellu postulate ‘against the clock’ for the Volta in the antechamber of the mountain

IX Volta to the Province of Valencia
Stage 2: Lliria – Lliria (20.8 km CRI)

Third in the last two editions of the Spanish Championship of the modality, the Majorcan Joan Martí Bennassar stayed to 21 seconds of the leadership in the Volta a Valencia after marking the ninth best time in a timed stage in which his companion Alesssandro Fancellu finished tenth and also took an important step forward in the general, third now.  In the time trial, over almost 21 kilometres which he covered at more than 50.3 km/h, Eloy Teruel from Murcia won, while briton Simon Carr ascended to the lead.

Bennassar was 1:23 out of the 24:48 marked by Teruel, while Fancellu finished a second later. “It wasn’t my best day, with four kilometres to go I started to have bad feelings”, he says. The Spaniard is the second in the overall U-20 riders.  Carlos Rodríguez from Granada, cyclist of the Kometa Cycling Team for young riders competing here with the Spanish team, set the eleventh fastest time of the day, 1:26 behind the winner.

Alessio Acco set the 17th best time, at 1:38. Sergio García finished 24th, at 1:57. Alejandro Ropero was 30th, at 2:06. 47th finished Eduardo Pérez-Landaluce, at 2:29. A 2:53, 61th, finished Carlos García.

“I am very satisfied with my performance because this was my first time trial in the U23 category and I wasn’t very sure what I could do in a speciality like this. This Saturday is going to be another hard day, but both Joan and I are very well placed and we will see if we can continue,” says Alessandro Fancellu.

This Saturday the race of the Levante race will dispute its most demanding stage. There will be 125.3 kilometres between Aras de los Olmos and Benageber. A demanding route in the Alto Turia with five high mountain points in the route. The last one, the Alto del Pantano de Benageber, with its summit less than two kilometres from the finish line.

(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)