Work done: Yellow saved at the finish line in Hondarribia
Return to Bidasoa
Stage 2: Irún-Hondarribia (119,4 km)
The Hungarian Barnabás Peak, national champion of his country and member of the team sponsored by the International Cycling Union, was the winner of a second stage of the Vuelta al Bidasoa in which the Polartec-Kometa more than fulfilled its task of defending Juan Pedro López’s yellow jersey. The Sevillian cyclist, well protected by his teammates during the day, arrived in the first main group that played the partial victory, a package of 29 units. Jorge Pastor, from Alicante, immeasurable work in the ascent of Mount Jaizkibel, entered slightly delayed, twelve seconds later. Carlos Garcia, who had to overcome a fall before the last climb, entered the finish just over half a minute from the winner. They were the first three members of the formation on arrival.
A second frenetic, high-paced and rainy day in which the members of the Polartec-Kometa U23 responded perfectly despite the fact that several (Cantoni, Pastor, Ropero) had been involved in crash in the previous day. The general classification continues with López at the front, although the fight for the same has unfortunately been dismissed by the brave Jokin Aranburu. The cyclist from Ampo, fourth in the general classification, was involved in a crash before the climb to Jaizkibel, which affected Carlos García; an incident in which he broke one of his collarbones and was forced to retire.
“We saved the second day. A complicated day, even more so because of the rain, because water always causes other types of tension. The race was very crazy in its first part, with many attacks and a very, very strong overall rhythm. We tried to set a pace so there wouldn’t be much more racket. Halfway through the race, Fran Perez, from Gomur, attacked and took a minute and a half. But he was hunted as he passed through Irún. Shortly after that came the crash in which, unfortunately, Aranburu broke his collarbone. Carlos Garcia was involved and suffered a bicycle breakdown. He got a good warm-up, but was able to get to the lead group right at the start of Jaizkibel. The weight gain is carried by Lizarte and us. Lizarte set a very high pace from the start and one of their boys has been slightly outstanding. Then it was Jorge Pastor who practically pulled it to the top. Archibold from the ICU tried it on the way down, but he got caught. Juanpe was in that group. Secured the day, he went in quietly and didn’t play the sprint, which he couldn’t see very well.
This Friday, the Vuelta al Bidasoa will take place its third stage, 131.2 kilometres, starting and finishing in Orio, with the presence of the ascent to Aia and its tremendous slopes, less than fifteen kilometres from the end.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
