2023-07-11 17:29:03
Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 5:23 p.m. | Updated 5:42 p.m.
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The Biscayan cyclist Pello Bilbao has collected the prize he has deserved for so long at the finish line in Issoire: victory in a stage of the Tour. Thanks to the time he has obtained in the break, he jumps up in the general classification and is fifth, just over four minutes behind the leader, Vingegaard. That puts him in the fight for the podium. With this victory, the rider from Forua ends a five-year drought in Spanish cycling, since Omar Fraile’s victory in Mende, in the 2018 Tour. And something else, the entire Bahrain team wanted to dedicate a stage to Gino Mader, died after a fall in the last Tour of Switzerland. Thank you for your inspiration, Gino. There you have this victory”, Pello said through tears as he crossed the finish line.
“I had a special motivation,” he repeated. Pello has had the patience to become the complete running back that he is. He has waited until he was 33 years old to get a stage on the Tour, the tenth of that edition. It was a tour made for him. He goes up and down from the exit at Vulcania. From the beginning he has been in all the escape attempts. Until he got on the good side, with rivals like O’Connor, Zimmermann, Alaphilippe, Skjkelmose, Neilandts, Pedrero… At all times, his goal was stage victory. “I didn’t care about the general.” He wanted to win for Gino. «After his death it was very difficult to prepare for this Tour. I had to take refuge in my family, in my daughter, Martina », he confessed.
In the last climb, the Latvian Neilandts proved to be the strongest of the breakaway. But not the one he has best calculated. They caught you on the long descent to Issoire. There, Pello has shown his finishing ability. He had already touched victory in the 2019 Tour, when only Simon Yates could beat him in Bagneres de Bigorre. This time he was not going to fail. He has handled the ending perfectly. “We were all very fair.” He has neutralized O’Connor first and then Zimmermann. Already in the sprint, the Biscayan has imposed his speed. By raising his arms he has launched the cry that he had contained for so long. The Tour had just rewarded his patience and his class. And he, Pello, has dedicated his best day to Gino.
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