Etxeberria, fourth, and González, seventh, were the standard bearers of a great group performance in Xátiva.

Double presence in the top ten for the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team U23 in a disputed edition of the Trofeu Fira d’Agost in which the blue squad enjoyed a great protagonism and remained until the end with options to dispute the victory. A revamped Trofeu, with a vibrant and selective route that grew in mileage, which also brought bad news for the structure of the Contador Foundation: the injury of Andrea Montoli, a dislocated right shoulder according to the first medical assessment, after being involved in an incident with a link bike during the race.

Haimar Etxeberria would finish fourth in a race where the Arabay Team’s double came to fruition: Edgar Curto and Adrián Albiach would stand out in the final part with a slight difference with respect to a group of eight cyclists, who entered the finishing area one by one, in which ‘Etxebe’, Antonio González and Raúl López were riding. The Aragonese rider had a great day, always attentive to the cuts in the initial part, and forming part of a breakaway (initially together with González) that was being selected in the circuit and that never enjoyed ostentatious differences. That was the dynamic of the race: hard fought, with different alternatives and never with big differences.

“I have a very positive balance of this race, we were close to victory”, says Haimar. “The excess of control during the whole day and in the final part didn’t allow us to catch the final breakaway, but I’m very happy with my pedal stroke and with the great performance and the great help of my teammates”.

Antonio González, seventh: “I loved the new route. I knew the area from other experiences, but this change with respect to last year has not made the race less hard, quite the contrary. With the heat and the steep slopes, it was a bit of a ball. I think the team did a great race, they rode brilliantly in a race that is not easy to control in front of other structures. In the end we had a triple presence in the leading group and that shows that we were attentive, always in the breakaway and always on the lookout for the breaks that were generated”.