Published on : 10/22/2020
The leader of the Cofidis team finished in the 'top 15' of an epic stage, this is a second top finish in 3 days. Such a result shows that he is in good physical shape and motivated for the rest of the Vuelta.
Summer may be far away, but this Vuelta makes an effort to remind us of it every day. Indeed, it took courage on this Thursday to resist the persistent cold and scattered showers. The wet road, which twisted and turned between the passes of Navarre and Castilla-y-León whose rocky peaks were lost in the clouds, could also prove to be a trap.
The ultimate climb with the strongest
It felt like a doomsday on the roads of Vuelta, that were surrounded by brown vegetation that led to Laguna Negra. Such a scenario suggested some kind of explanation between the strongest riders, and that's what happened. At the beginning of the final climb, Pierre-Luc Périchon, Emmanuel Morin, Victor Lafay and José Herrada accompanied Guillaume Martin for a long time.
The leader of the Cofidis team took control of his performance in the last kilometers, finishing 43 seconds (14th) behind the winner of the day, Dan Martin. He also assured that his sensations are better than in the beginning of the race, that sounds really promising.
Tomorrow, the Vuelta will continue but it will offer the riders some rest with 191 km to go without any particular difficulty between Garray Numanca and Ejea De Los Caballeros. A stage that should end with the first massive sprint of this Tour of Spain.
THEY SAID...
Guillaume MARTIN: "
We wanted to put a rider in the breakaway, but we missed the chance. We did well because the peloton came back. After that, it was quite nervous, we were afraid of the wind, but I was very well surrounded by Pierre-Luc, Manu, Victor and José. Now I'm feeling more confident than in the last few days..
I managed to stay in the leading group for a long time. I didn't have enough resources to fight for the victory so I preferred not to insist and to recover a little bit. There isn't a victory at the finish, but the results are still very encouraging for the rest of the race"
Christian Guiberteau, sports director: "
Today, we were able to show our support for Guillaume Martin. This enabled him to tackle the last difficulty of the day in the best possible way. These first three stages have been tough, but we will make sure that we recover well before tomorrow's stage."