César Pérez, protagonist in the climb to Magacela and in the fight for the Circuito del Guadiana
Circuito del Guadiana / Copa de España
Don Benito – Don Benito (85,7 km)
César Pérez from Murcia finished seventh this Saturday in the Circuito del Guadiana of Don Benito, first race of the Spanish Cup of the category. Pérez, in his first race with the colours of the youth structure of the Contador Foundation, was one of the most outstanding riders of this edition, always attentive to the movements of Magacela, especially the second and final one. The victory, the first Extremaduran to win in two decades, went to Pablo Lospitao (Electromercantil) from Badajoz.
In an edition where the rain, and at times also the wind, made an appearance, it was the climb to the town of Badajoz that provided the selection. On this occasion, due to works in the town centre, the organisers had to eliminate the final part of the climb and, after a frantic descent along Villanueva street, go up the old road to the grand prix of the mountain. A slightly longer climb to Magacela, but also different, in short.
Crashes again made an appearance in the first kilometres, such was the tension at the start, and in one of them Nil Aguilera was involved, with no major consequences. The aim was to reach the base of the climb grouped together and as far ahead as possible, something that was achieved, and to be on the lookout for different movements that might occur. In the first step it was César Pérez who was the first to reach the summit. Unai Guerra (Suministros Zadorra), with maximum rents of around 45 seconds shortly before the first pass, and Jorge García (Entrenamiento Ciclismo), who would later make a solo attempt, were the great adventurers of the day.
The second and final pass through Magacela broke up the race. After the climb, with César Pérez riding in second position in a group where Abel Rosado (Drone Hopper) was trying to get away, a group of fifteen riders was formed. This group, which achieved a lead of just under a minute, ended up reaching the final part. In the final stages, Lospitao accelerated to go off alone and achieve a slight advantage. César Pérez took seventh place, while Joan Cadena led the bunch sprint, 32 seconds behind, in 16th place.
César Pérez, eventually on the podium as winner of the Gran Premio de la Montaña: “I felt good in the two passes, with good legs; the work of my team-mates allowed me to stay ahead at all times. It was on the second pass that I made the good cut. It was a pity that only I could be there for the team. From there to the finish line, there were a lot of hard punches, in this category there are a lot of strong people”.
