For @amatiz12
Miguel Ángel López (Team Medellín) achieved a brilliant victory in the fifth stage of the Vuelta a San Juan 2023, which contained the expected finish in Alto del Colorado. The Colombian demonstrated his quality when the road inclines and that despite now running in a low category, his level has not changed at all.
The development of the day until the final ascent did not have much emotion, with Manuele Tarozzi being the great protagonist by collecting all the points available for the mountain classification, as well as being one of the last men to survive the escape along with Leandro Messineo.
Already in full ascent to Colorado, Team Medellín passed in front with its block of climbers to prepare the ground for the movement of its figure. However, his plans would be crossed by Remco Evenepoel, the first of the favorites to go on the offensive with still a long 10 km to go.
The world champion had a clear advantage of 50-75 meters but that remained sustained, since INEOS used Brandon Rivera as the controller of that movement. At the same time, the group was significantly reduced, with only the presence of Egan Bernal, Filippo Ganna, Einer Rubio, Sergio Higuita and Miguel Ángel López.
Seeing that he was not opening a gap and that he was running out of fuel, Evenepoel gave up and allowed himself to be captured by the pursuers, immediately giving way to López’s first attack. At his wheel Bernal came out forcefully, who as a gregarious, closed the exit attempt of the best climber present in the test.
The situation seemed under control, but ‘Supermán’, appealing to his traditional persistence, launched a second onslaught to which only Higuita answered, giving signs that victory would begin to be harvested there.
The BORA leader would not last long, drowned out by the rhythm of López who alone sought to finish off the victory. His 20 ″ income over the other candidates would become pure drama due to Ganna’s move, which with his virtue as a wheeler, endangered his success on the lightest ramps of an irregular colossus.
Luckily for the now Medellín runner, higher percentages appeared that allowed him to resolve the battle in his favor and sign his first victory since his controversial departure from Astana. An exhibition that shows that he has legs and always will, because his talent is innate, a separate matter from his decision-making or other circumstances that have separated him from big cycling, for which he has a level to spare.
Classifications:
Alejandro Matiz
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