Diego Pablo Sevilla, in the break of the second day at the Comunitat Valenciana
70th Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana
Stage 2: Alicante-Alicante (170 km)
Positive day in the young squead of the Kometa Cycling Team, achieving presence in the break of the day and including three riders in the pack that would play the partial victory at the finish line in Alicante. In the second stage of the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana, victory for an entire European champion such as the Italian Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott), protagonism for Diego Pablo Sevilla and small step forward at the overall for Juan Pedro López, Michel Ries and Stefano Oldani.
A complex day, with a broken track through the interior of the province of Alicante that in its 170 km included three mountain pass scoring for the grand prize of the mountain. In the first kilometers a breakaway would begin to take shape that would end up consolidating itself with eight riders, among which was the Madrid-born Sevilla.
“I haven’t been very comfortable, that’s the truth. The breakaway had taken place and I was riding with about twenty seconds. That’s when I started. I was seeing that the platoon was letting go. It took me a lot to catch them, but in the end I got it right at the base of the first col”, he explains. Diego Pablo Sevilla would collaborate with Mathias Van Gompel (Sport Vlaanderen- Baloise), Mikel Urrutia (Euskadi), Raúl Alarcón (w52-Porto), Nigel Ellsay (Rally), Ibai Azurmendi (Euskadi Foundation), Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH) and the former rider of the Fundación Alberto Contador Joan Bou (Nippo Vini Fantini).
The eight members of the break would remain at the head of the race until the ascent of the Port of La Carrasqueta, where the work of Astana and Mitchelton-Scott demolished their efforts. In the adventure, Sevilla would manage to cross in first position the intermediate sprint of Alcoy. The two WorldTour formations, especially the Kazakh one through Omar Fraile, Luis León Sánchez and the Dane Magnus Cort Nielsen, would persevere to créate a selection in this final ascent. Both Juan Pedro López, who happens to be the best classified of the team in the provisional general classification (59º, to 55 seconds, improving ten positions), as well as the Luxembourger Ries and the Italian Oldani would manage to roll in the leading group and the subsequent platoon that regrouped in the frenetic final part.
“The stage was not at all easy because several teams made a lot of effort in the last climb to take down the sprinters. Together with Stefano Oldani and Juan Pedro López we rode in a good position and we managed to pass well ahead. The sensations have been very good and I’m looking forward to these next two stages”, explains Luxembourger Michel Ries, who climbs to 89th place in a general classification in which he improves 22 positions.
The third stage of the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana will join the towns of Quart de Poblet and Chera on Wednesday. A day of almost 200 kilometres, 194.3 to be precise, which will pass through a very difficult terrain. Up to six mountain peaks mark the route, with the last two (Sot de Chera and Salto de la Mora, which will be passed twice during the day), within the last twenty kilometres.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
