Possibly the most expressive gesture from Mikel Landa's spectacular stage victory on Wednesday was not when he raised his arms in victory, but when, some 400 metres from the line, Landa put his radio earpiece back in place.
The Basque climber admitted to Spanish television afterwards he had seized his own chance to go for the win. He apparently took that option rather than follow any Astana team orders that might have been radioed through. Given teammate Fabio Aru was chasing behind on the same climb and with the overall lead at stake, it arguably might have made for sense for Landa to wait and work for Aru.
The potential issue of what strategy Astana would adopt in the Vuelta with Landa and his teammates had taken root when Fabio Aru gained traction during the 2015 Giro d'Italia, where Landa's overall options and Aru's appeared at times to conflict. The Italian finally finished second overall and Landa, after taking two mountain top stages in the third week and launching a devastating mountain attack on the second-to-last day, completed the Giro in third.
ADVERTISEMENT
Asked by Spanish television if he had been given freedom by his team to race as he wanted on the Vuelta stage or whether he took it for himself, Landa - set to leave Astana at the end of the season - said simply, "I took it [my freedom]."
"I decided to go for it. I needed a win so I took my day. I had this day marked down as possible, that’s why I was looking for the break."
Landa had lost nearly 14 minutes on Sunday's stage finish at Cumbre del Sol. At that point he said categorically that Astana's leader for the Vuelta was Aru and Aru alone.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1N4sUrD
No comments:
Post a Comment