Roman Villalobos scored a major victory for his Canel's-Specialized team, latching onto a late breakaway with Lotto Soudal's Tiesj Benoot, then riding a strong tailwind to a sprint victory over Ricardo Escuela (A.C.A. Virgen De Fatima) on stage 2 of the Vuelta a San Juan.
Villalobos also took the race lead over Escuela thanks to the time bonus. Benoot finished third on the stage and sits third overall, being caught just on the line by the chasing peloton.
Villalobos now enjoys a four-second lead in the general classification over Escuela, with Benoot at six and overnight leader Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) down to fourth at eight seconds.
ADVERTISEMENT
The win is the biggest of Villalobos' career, and the 27-year-old Costa Rican said it was dream that was hatched the morning of the stage.
"I told my teammates in the morning before the stage that I wanted to win," he said at the post-stage press conference. "We knew that we’d have to have a strong team to be in the first part of the peloton but with experience I could win the stage."
The trio escaped in the closing kilometres and cooperated well together, but as the peloton started bearing down in the final 500 metres, Benoot took the initiative and went to the front to ensure they stayed away. Villalobos timed his track perfectly, with Escuala trailing along and moving ahead of Bennot at the line.
How it unfolded
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-a-la-provincia-de-san-juan-2018/stage-2/results
No comments:
Post a Comment