The wind and the echelons made for an uncertain fourth day, in which an attentive Javi Serrano maintained his lead
Vuelta Ciclista a Zamora
Stage 4: Lácteas Cobreros – Valcabado (147,8 km)
The Vuelta a Zamora modified the timetable of the stage to avoid the heat and encountered the wind. And with the presence of the air, the battle. Right from the start. Javi Serrano retained his yellow leader’s jersey in a fourth stage of the Zamora round that was marked by a fast start, 47.5 km/y average in the first hour as a reference, more than 44 km/h at the finish, where the partial victory was resolved in a reduced sprint in which the Russian Gleb Syritsa imposed his speed.
Serrano was attentive from the start and was present in the two cuts that came with the signature of Club Ciclisme Catalunya and its Russian power. Echelons time. In the first one he was escorted by Andrea Pietrobon. After the regrouping after an intense battle, a very lively pace until the end with some breakaway attempts, because the offensive is cosustancial to the category. In the final kilometre, with a view to the sprint, Fran Muñoz made his move. And in between, an EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team focused on protecting the leader.
“We continue to overcome days”, says Javi Serrano at the finish. “A priori it could seem like the easiest stage but in the end I would say that it has been the hardest of all so far. From kilometre 0 the race has been very broken by the wind. It’s true that all of us who are fighting for the general classification arrived together, but during the day we spent very little time together. The team was once again sensational, they supported me at all times. Days like this are key and having a team around you is very important. If in the end you get caught in the wind and you don’t have support, you have nothing to do. So I’m very grateful to them one more day”.
This Saturday the queen stage of the Castilian-Leonese race arrives with the Sanabria mountain. It is not a high mountain stage in terms of altitude, but there are some very difficult climbs due to the steepness of the slopes and the roughness of the terrain. Ladiairo, just over two kilometres of ascent, but with an average gradient of around 10%. And Marabón, on the soil of Orense, and which is practically chained, is 3.5 km also with an average gradient of 10%, but on a final kilometre with ramps of up to 21% in a terrible final kilometre. Afterwards, the ascent to the village of Hedroso is more gradual.
[📷 @lavueltaazamora]
