2023-08-27 19:19:04
BarcelonaLong faces before the departure from Mataró in the second stage of the Vuelta. A good splash of water has accompanied the arrival of the cyclists at Avinguda del Port in the capital of Maresme. Soaked by what happened in Saturday’s team time trial in Barcelona, the cyclists have started the machinery to negotiate with the race organization what needed to be done on the magical mountain of Montjuïc when it seemed like the sky was falling in Mataró .
The same Jonas Vingegaard, double winner of the Tour de France, went to see Enric Mas in the coach of the Movistar team to convey to him the decision that the times in the general were set before starting to climb Montjuïc and avoid risks on the dangerous urban circuit on the second day of the Vuelta. “There are times when you have to make decisions like the one we took today and that’s how it was”, explained Artà cyclist Enric Mas when he crossed the finish line. The roosters of the race have activated the operative to neutralize the final section of the stage through the union that represents them to be able to negotiate with the organization.
Two pieces of information have overlapped: before starting the day between Mataró and Barcelona – of 182 km -, the time for the general had to be set at the top of the Montjuïc castle, about 3 kilometers from the finish line, and with the start of the stage, the organization announced that it would be 9 kilometers from the finish line, as Vingegaard had proposed to Enric Mas. But the bonuses at Montjuïc Castle and at the finish remained active. Therefore, with the race controlled by the overall favorites 9 km from the finish line on the Avenida Reina Maria Cristina de Barcelona, several cyclists went after the stage win and the bonuses at the top of Montjuïc Castle and also at the finish, combined with yesterday’s classification, have given a new leader. The stage was won solo by the Danish cyclist Andreas Kron and the new red leader’s jersey is worn by the Italian cyclist Andrea Piccolo. All the favorites in the general took the neutralized section calmly to certify what they had achieved before the start and they arrived at the rhythm of the cycling tour next to the Montjuïc Stadium with the warmth of the public that, umbrella in hand and cape, he has come to the finish line.
As happened in the Tour de France in the stages of the Basque Country, the thumbtacks have also appeared on Catalan roads to scare cyclists. On the descent of the Estenalles pass, a dozen runners including Jonas Vingegaard, Juan Ayuso, Geraint Thomas and Remco Evenepoel were affected by an intentional action. In addition, the clips, as shown by RTVE, had a plastic to reinforce the base to ensure that the wheel punctured when cyclists passed over them. But he saw the row of plastics with the thumbtacks ready and was able to warn his colleagues. However, some of them couldn’t help it and also stung.
Juan Ayuso, third on the Vuelta podium last year, said about the event: “I want to thank whoever threw them for being subnormal, and I wish him what he wished for us, that is, the worst”, explained Ayuso at the finish line with the lanterns on for much of the day, even though the stage ended almost three hours earlier than on the first day, marked by the final darkness. “We couldn’t improvise by moving the time forward, any disruption to the timetable in a city like Barcelona and its densely populated metropolitan area affects the entire mobility of the territory”, pointed out Javier Guillén, director of the Vuelta, before departure from Mataró. On Monday the Vuelta will leave from Súria and end in Andorra after climbing Ordino and Arinsal. “The best thing is that we will finish high”, said Enric Mas, who lives in Andorra and occupies the eighth position overall, 13 seconds behind the leader. The Catalan cyclist Marc Soler also lives in the country of the Pyrenees: “Let’s recover from everything that happened today, that’s enough, and then I’ll think about Andorra”, said Soler with a strong twinge in his eyes as a result of the dirt that had entered him during the past day due to water.
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