Joan Martí Bennassar revalidates his bronze in a time trial of the Nationals where Arturo Grávalos and Edu Pérez-Landaluce stand out
Spanish Cycling Championships 2019
ITT U23: Yecla-Yecla (21.6 km)
Bronze medal in the last edition, the Balearic Joan Martí Bennassar returned to the podium in the form of time trial of the Championships of Spain of Cycling a year later after marking the third best time in an appointment disputed in Murcian lands. With start and finish in Yecla, on 21,6 kilometres, Bennassar stopped the chronometer in 27:17. The Mallorcan rider, the penultimate participant to start his race in the morning of this Friday, would manage to set the second best time in the finish.
Practically from the first bars of the time trial the best time corresponded to the Basque Xabier-Mikel Azparren, the fourth cyclist to start his participation and author of a 26:51 stratospheric cemented in a second part of the time trial of descending profile. The Galician Martín Bouzas, defender of the title and the last participant to face the time trial, would finish silver for only two seconds.
“I haven’t been very hot”, says Bennassar, who came to highlight last Sunday and achieve a victory in the II Trofeu Ajuntament d´Alaró, meeting of the Challenge of the Balearic Islands held over 145 kilometers. “The illusion of getting the title was there. If a medal fell, perfect. The objective was clear and we went out to give everything. The course adapted very well to the characteristics of a pure wheeler. But it was a demanding time trial: you think that in the return you go fast; but cheat; it is pure agony”.
Joan Martí Bennassar’s award was the spearhead of a great choral participation of the riders of the Kometa Cycling Team sub23 in the timing of these Spanish Championships for their category. The riojano Arturo Grávalos and the asturian Eduardo Pérez-Landaluce made use of their good pedal stroke after participating in the Giro Baby and concluded this time trial among the top ten. Grávalos set the sixth fastest time (27:25), while Pérez-Landaluce finished eighth (27:36). Both provisionally set the second fastest time at the intermediate point.
“You always like to finish as far ahead as possible, but you have to be happy with the result before so much specialist,” said the Oviedo. “In the descent I saved too much and when I realized I was practically in the goal. However, well, it was like the one that says my third day with a chrono bike. If I had taken a pinganillo, I’m sure he would have guided me a little more”, says Grávalos.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
📸 RFEC
