Great performance in Tierra de Campos: brilliant fifth square of Stefano Oldani at Villada
34th Vuelta a Castilla y León
Stage 2: Frómista-Villada (170.3 km)
The Italian Stefano Oldani climbed to tenth place in the provisional general classification of the Vuelta a Castilla y León, 1:35 from the leader, after finishing fifth this Friday in his second stage, a fraction again exposed to strong gusts of wind in which the action of the zephyr in the landscapes of Tierra de Campos was fundamental for its resolution. A cut in his last kilometres ended up highlighting eight riders at the head of the race, among them the Milanese of the Kometa Cycling Team and his compatriot Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy), leader of a general in whose first place he consolidated his second consecutive victory in the Castilian-Leon round.
For the interests of the Madrid team, the second stage of the race was twofold. First, in its first measures, the search for escape; then, the protection of Michele Gazzoli and Stefano Oldani. The first one was not completed after a dizzying start in which ten riders would end up standing out at the head of the race. It was time to roll very close to the Italians to keep them out of any incident and to support them in the event of a possible breakdown. “It was a day to eat a lot of air; I was very attentive to Gazzoli. In the end the legs feel it a lot. It’s a silent job, you don’t notice it, but you have to do it. I could be in the first important cut, but in the second one I couldn’t answer anymore. But I’m satisfied with the feeling and the work of the team,” said Portugal’s Daniel Viegas.
The escape would take more than seven minutes and the chasing pack, with all Movistar working on those tasks, began to implement a very high pace that reduced its composition to about thirty units. As in the first stage, there were Juan Camacho, Antonio Puppio and Stefano Oldani. That main group where the leader was filming literally flew and annulled the escape within the last fifteen kilometers, a moment in which a lot of sideways air entered again. And that circumstance was fundamental, with Oldani very attentive, in the genesis of a very small group.
“It’s been another airy day,” says Oldani on his way to the hotel after finishing his eighth top ten of the season. “Movistar and Israel have thrown very hard throughout the day. Fortunately we were able to take the fifteen-unit cut that went ahead”. Those fifteen units, in turn, would be selected in the last kilometers. Camacho and Puppio, who entered Villada’s finish line in 19th and 24th position, respectively, and in the first chasing group, cemented the fifth place of the Kometa Cycling Team in the partial by squads. In the general team standings, the Madrid continental team will start the fourth in the last stage, only behind Movistar, Israel and Murias.
The Vuelta a Castilla y León ends this Saturday in Villafranca del Bierzo with a stage of 151.8 kilometres that will start from León. On paper, also orographically, it is the most complicated stage given the passage through the Alto de Foncebadón, although this port is faced by its softer side. The Alto de Onamio, the other scoring climb, has its summit almost 60 kilometres from the finish line. A very important day for the work of the teams, a task in which the block of the Kometa Cycling Team is standing out.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
