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Junior

12 Sep 2021

About victories, retirements after crashes and four days of maximum effort: the Vuelta a Talavera 2021, in Antonio González’s pocket

28º Vuelta a Talavera
Stage 4: Talavera de la Reina – Talavera de la Reina (111 km)

Antonio González, from Castilla-Leon, won the final general classification of the Vuelta a Talavera, a race that concluded this Sunday, after defending the time gains that kept him first in the classification against the threats of a breakaway. A triumph with Antonio’s own name, but with the stamp and signature of a whole team that defended the yellow jersey from the first kilometre.

González’s victory is a triumph of consistency. The rider from Soria has always been very involved in the race: he saved a complicated first day, rode in the breakaway in a second stage marked by the wind, was attentive in the high finish of the first sector of the third day and assaulted the lead in the evening time trial, in which he came close to winning. The overall in Talavera was his first victory of the season.

In the last stage, with the ascent to El Piélago in the middle of the stage, a large breakaway including Samuel Fernández, first ten riders, then eight, then seven, managed to consolidate a gap of up to two minutes. The riders of the junior team of the Contador Foundation worked hard to reduce a very dangerous advantage. In the decisive part of the race, it was Gonzalez himself who was pulling a group of about twenty riders, fighting to keep the advantage within a time margin.

Thus concludes a very positive edition of the Vuelta a Talavera for the team directed by Guillermo Gutiérrez, an edition that started with the sprint victory in the first stage of Samuel de Pablo and with the loss, after suffering a crash and a deep cut, of David Gimeno who arrived in a great moment.

Antonio González: “My first victory in the category has finally arrived and I am very happy. But it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of all my teammates. They gave their all in the first half of the stage today and throughout the whole lap. They were great, and of course all the staff too. This final stage was really hard. I was forced to attack in the hardest part of the pass to try to cut time on the breakaway. From then on it was just a block to the finish. Luckily everything went as expected and we can take the overall of this Vuelta a Talavera home. I would like to dedicate this victory to my two teammates Miguel Ramos and David Gimeno, who in recent weeks have had very, very hard crashes; I hope they are recovered as soon as possible”.

Guillermo Gutiérrez, director of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team junior: “They have been four very intense days, in which we have had to manage all kinds of situations and in which the team has been at a great level, racing with very clear ideas and always in favour of what was best at that moment. The best example of this came in the final stage, with the boys pouring their hearts out in defence of Gonzalez’s lead. Lucas and David have done a priceless job. Antonio has taken a very important step forward in this race, he has shown that he is a very regular cyclist on all terrains. It is a triumph of consistency and teamwork. The only regret of this race was the loss of David Gimeno, who was in very good shape and very motivated”.

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