José Antonio García, second for a great Polartec-Kometa at the Memorial Momparler
VI Memorial Pascual Momparler
Villanueva de Castellón-Villanueva de Castellón (163 km)
Winning is never easy, and even less so in a sport like cycling. But when everything is given on the bike, nothing is reprehensible. From Memorial Momparler, the Polartec-Kometa starts with a second place in the race, with three cyclists in the top fifteen, a second position in the team general standings and a victory in the overall of intermediate sprints (metas volantes). A good taste in the mouth. In the event in Castellón, the winner was’caja rural’ David González, who beat the sprint of the small group that played the victory to our rider José Antonio García. A finish in which Juan Pedro Lopez, winner of the “metas volante´s” overall, finished seventh.
Lopez was one of the great protagonists of the race, with an ambitious faraway move that led to a ride with almost a minute on his closest followers and a minute and a half on the main pack. “I am happy despite the result, because it was very close. I started from a distance, about 40 kilometres from the end, in a straight stretch just after an acceleration of Eusebio Pascual. When I saw that I did a break, I pulled as far as I could”, explains the Sevillian. The very high pace imposed by the cyclists of the Caja Rural destroyed their escape practically in a first step through Villanueva de Castellón and turned the race into a pulse between two small groups fighting for the union.
José Antonio García: “We were really looking forward to this race despite the fact that the previous two weeks were not the best. The race was tough, pretty tough for my characteristics as cyclist. The intention was to pass with the front group El Campello, but it could not be despite having tried in the first port, with three other cyclists. Funnily enough, I had a great time at El Campello. We crowned about 20 riders and from there the idea was to hold on and try not to let too many cuts go by. Pastor, Ropero, Juanpe and I were in that small group. At Cumbres de Valencia I gave in, but I managed to get back in. From there, with Juanpe escaped, we focused on filling in gaps in rival moves. In the end, when he was hunted, we had to play the sprint. I arrived a little fair and that’s why I couldn’t do more, but I’m happy with the sensations and the way the team rode”.
Rafa García, director: “We leave with a good taste in our mouths, because in a group of twenty units we had four of our own and as a team we have made a great place. In the general classification of the Spanish Cup we have made a small jump, because we are putting José Antonio, now sixth. Juan Pedro wins two positions and is fourth. The objective was to try to get to José Antonio, he had options and we stayed close. For the climbers, the Memorial is a good test, but it is not the best in the sense that, as in Torredonjimeno, the last 30 kilometres are favourable for the riders and, in these competitions, one for the other and the race is finished. Juan Pedro did an experiment that came out of him; we wanted him to stay in the second port, but he jumped before and faced an anthological effort. It was crazy, so far from the finish line, but at times it made us daydream”.
