The Picón Blanco makes a great selection in the general classification, where Mark Christian is the best placed

43ª Vuelta a Burgos
Stage 3: Busto de Bureba – Espinosa de los Monteros (173 km)

Picón Blanco is a huge climb. Really hard, capable by itself of selecting a race. Even more so if the stage comes fast, lively, with an intense start. This is what happened this Thursday in the Vuelta a Burgos. In its ramps attacked the Frenchman Romain Bardet to win alone and to rise to the provisional leadership. British rider Mark Christian, the first of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team riders at the finish line, fought there. He finished 39th, 40th was Sergio García, and now Christian is 23rd overall, 3’17” behind Bardet.

A day of fast start, with several attempts to consolidate a breakaway and with an average of more than 46.5 km/h in the first hour. Four riders would make the breakaway a success, achieving more than seven minutes of margin and, with their alternations, would give continuity to the movement until Picón Blanco, where they were swallowed up by a race that was launched and very well selected.

Mark Christian: “It was a really tough stage. The first half of the day was quite relaxed, but then there was a lot of jockeying for position on the last two climbs. The roads were narrow and technical, so it was even more important to be at the front. Vincenzo did a great job up to the base of Picón Blanco. On the steepest part of the climb the race went off the rails and I tried to keep my own pace all the way to the top”.

Sergio García: “A very demanding stage. At the start the team tried to get back into the breakaway. But this time it wasn’t possible and the objective became to always be at the front and try to make sure that Mark didn’t lack anything. On the Picón Blanco I felt good, I went flat out and, although I was left out of the group with four kilometres to go to the top, I practically reached the summit together with Mark. From there we both went flat out until the finish. In the end the wear and tear of the last two days was noticeable, but in general I felt good. I loved the Picón Blanco. It’s a very hard climb, but I really enjoyed it with all the fans there”.

This Friday the Burgos round returns to the plateau with a stage between Roa de Duero and Aranda de Duero with a predominantly flat profile and in which there will surely be another battle between the adventurers and the teams with an interest in a sprint.

[   PhotoGomezSport]