The Extremaduran superstage ending at Pico Villuercas barely sparked attacks among the favorites. Yes for the lead, between Guillaume Martin and Odd Christian Eiking, who celebrated as if it were a triumph having kept the red jersey at the top: enormous satisfaction ”. And it is that the Norwegian Intermarche was aware in the previous one that its options would depend on whether there was a real battle and this barely stayed in an inconsistent attack by Martin and the start of Superman López in the last three kilometers.
For the Colombian from Movistar, the key is that the stages without large mountain profiles have taken a lot of wear: “There were days, especially in this second week, in which the entire first part of the day was filmed at full capacity, and the escape was very difficult to make., it did not form until after 70, 80 or even 100 kilometers. That high pace, added to the heat we are experiencing, has added more fatigue ”.
The conditions in the last ascent did not help either, in which “the headwind was hitting and it was very difficult to open an important gap alone,” said López, who this time was Movistar’s offensive trick while Enric Mas stayed behind. Primoz Roglic. But it is true that this movement did not happen until the final stretch. “Conservatism among the candidates for the general? I don’t know if we were very conservative or not, but the fatigue is already noticeable “, said the fifth of the general, which nevertheless made a positive reading. “There came a time when I was about 20 seconds away, in the end it was only a few (four), but I am left with the good feelings.
Another who gave a good image was Egan Bernal, who lived “his best day” after arriving at the same time as Roglic and Mas. But not even that made him cheer up: “What we have in the race was very hard and in my opinion there is fear of attacking from afar and then bursting “. And, above all, if the Roglic team, the Jumbo, is solid: “Testing when they lead five runners at the head of the group does not help”. At the moment, the winner of the Giro is not for exhibitions either: “In my case it is no longer that fear, but being realistic. We will see as the days go by.
