Crisis at Lago Castiñeiras and farewell from the top10 of the Volta
The good moment of Luca Bagnara didn’t find a good result in the last fraction of the Volta a Galicia, that of the climbs to Lago Castiñeiras and O Pituco within the final thirty kilometres in which the Italian could not be present in the offensive movements led by Samuel Fernandez (Caja Rural) in the first of these two climbs that would engulf the escape of the day and revolutionize the development of the stage, with attacks, falls, chases, mistakes and many emotions.
Bagnara arrived escorted by Antonio Gonzalez in a group more than three minutes behind the head of the race and finally fell out of the top 10 of a race that in the last two editions had seen a rider of the U23 structure of the Contador Foundation at the top (Alex Martin, 2021; Fernando Tercero, 2022). The rider from Faenza, eleventh in the final classification, had started the day wearing the blue jersey of the best U23: “The day was going well, we were riding without worries because other squads had to take the reins of the work. Unfortunately, when the attacks started, it was impossible for me to respond. I went into a crisis on that penultimate climb and it was a question of finishing as well as possible”.
n the final climb to the Plaza de España in Pontevedra, Daniel Cavia (Gomur) won, very active in the attacks with Fernández, with final and definitive leadership for the twenty-year-old Martín Rey (Cortizo) after the Caja Rural rider went off the course after some motorbikes of the Guardia Civil in the last two kilometres of the stage, an incident that made him lose a substantial part of the time with which he was advancing towards the partial victory and the assault on the general classification.
With the conclusion of this edition of the Volta a Galicia the season of the U23 structure of the Contador Foundation comes to an end. A complicated season, with hard falls, injuries and unexpected situations, but also with great moments. These last lines of the campaign serve as thanks to all the fans who have cheered us on in the ditches; they also serve as congratulations to all the rivals, also colleagues, for their successes and good fortunes during the course, we hope that we have made it a little more difficult for you; and they also serve as thanks to the organisers, volunteers and all the people who continue to make this sport possible in these categories. Many thanks to all the runners and all the staff members for their enormous commitment and dedication. And finally, and most especially, thank you very much for all the warmth we received in the very hard days after 19 May 2023.
