Being Tour de l’Avenir champion brings with it a certain level of attention and expectation. Suddenly your name is known and people are watching your every move, eager to ascertain if and when you’ll show signs of morphing into ‘the real deal’.
The title helped earn Miguel Ángel López a professional contract at WorldTour level with Astana, but the Colombian has had a quiet start to the season. He raced at his national championships in February before bowing out of the Volta a Catalunya in late March on the fifth stage – his first race in the light blue of the Kazakh team.
But on stage six of the Tour of Turkey, on the category-one climb to the summit finish at Selcuk, the 21-year-old sparked into life. Attacking from three kilometres out, he sprung clear and made his way up the hillside with Quintana-esque poise.
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It wasn’t to be, though, as Pello Bilbao (Caja Rural-Seguros) bridged across, rode in his wheel and made the most of his sharper sprint in the final 50 metres.
“I’m very happy with my ride,” López told Cyclingnews after he crossed the line. “I’m happy to have climbed so well, but also I guess a bit disappointed. I felt good and attacked with three kilometres to go, but I hadn’t realised quite how hard it would be at the end, so I didn’t quite have enough.
“That’s cycling – you have to learn to win and you have to learn to lose. I wanted to win but that’s how it is – a bit disappointing.”
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