After securing his first Grand Tour podium, Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) said that he had been fighting to honour the memory of his father. Zakarin’s father passed away last year, and his mother-in-law just six months ago. He has been racing the 2017 season with the determination to pay tribute to his dad.
Zakarin has been flirting with a podium spot throughout the Vuelta a Espana, but had to wait until the Alto de l’Angliru to seal his place in the top three, jumping Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) and holding off Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) by just 20 seconds.
“I’m very happy and my next goal will be even higher,” Zakarin explained after the stage. “Last year my father died, and this year I have been trying to win for my father. It was a big dream to be able to honour him. My mother-in-law also died six months ago, and it has been a very tough time for the family.”
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Zakarin began the stage with a 12-second deficit to Kelderman, who had jumped ahead of the Russian in Tuesday’s time trial. Kelderman held onto the group of favourites for much of the climb, but when Froome accelerated close to the top, neither he or Zakarin could hold on. It became another time trial for the pair as they tried to pace themselves up to the finish line, but this time it was Zakarin who came out triumphant. He finished more than 30 seconds ahead of the Dutchman, more than enough to step onto the podium.
“When you come to stage 20 and third in the general classification, it means that you have quality and you are in good shape," Katusha-Alpecin team manager Jose Azevedo told Cyclingnews. "We knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but we knew that this climb would suit Ilnur better when it is this steep.
“At the start, he tried to stay with him and then he rode his own tempo. He couldn’t follow Froome but he was able to drop Kelderman, and he recovered about 15 seconds to Alberto and he took the podium. It was good, it was our goal from the beginning of the Vuelta and we are super happy.”
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