The Spanish Juan Ayuso (UA Emirates) was imposed on 77 Circuit of Getxo-Memorial Brothers Otxoaa 196.5-kilometer race dotted with climbs that is the decisive section, with climbs in Nursery Y Pike Bideaboth Second Division, will be overcome in the first stage of Tour de France 2023which will appear in Bilbao.
Although the greatest attraction of a race in Biscay, obviously more than in previous years, is the final ascent of the Arkotxa wall, an 800-meter slope with sections of up to 14% difference in level , which is often decided by the winner.
On that slope, Ayuso, 19 years old and the great hope of Spanish cycling for the future in the short and medium term, imposed his power by centimeters in a header quartet where he imposed his last strength in the Italian Andrea Piccolo (Dronne Hopper ), the Dutchman Wilco Kerderman (Bora) and the French Valentin Ferron (Total Energies).
German Emanuel Buschmann (Bora) would have chased down that quartet, but in the end he gave up 12 seconds joined by Alex Aranburu (Movistar), who was ahead of the main pack, who gave up 17 seconds at the finish line led by another Spaniard, Jesús Herrada (Cofidis).
From the very beginning, riders from the lowest teams, the ProTeams, were looking for a breakaway that would bring them racing fame.
The breakaway was formed around kilometer 10, when four runners left the front: Asier Etxebarria from Navarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alex Martín from Catalonia (Eolo Kometa), Joseph Rosskopf from the United States (Human Powered) and Etienne van Empel (China Glory) .
They were soon joined by a trio consisting of the Cantabrian Ángel Madrazo (Burgos BH), the Murcian Javier Gil (Bahrain) and the Venezuelan Edwin Yair Torres (Java Kiwi Atlántico); and later the Colombians Juan Esteban Guerrero (Electro Hiper Europa) and Juan Diego Alba (Dronne Hopper-Androni Giocateli).
The nine rode more than 100 km in the lead and built up a lead of more than three and a half minutes before being chased 57 minutes from the finish line. That included some runners from the UAE where they survived after the attempted coup by Josean Fernández Matxin’s team over 65 kms. possibly in favor of the promise of Juan Ayuso. That he was part of his team’s quartet surprised the peloton for several kilometers.
The escape of three other modest, José María García (Electro), which caused it, Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel) and again Alba, served as a link until the decisive section of the route, with the ascent to Vivero which is not yet 40 km from the goal.
Once the trio were caught, Rui Costa struck to give the UAE attack continuity, Alex Aranburu scored and a group of seven formed with Wilko Kelderman counterattacking, and Andrea Piccoli pouncing for it. The race has already been launched on the way to the long-awaited Pike Bidea, the two kilometer wall with an average gradient of 9 percent and ramps of up to 14 that will mark the first stage of the 2023 Tour de France.
At the top of Pike Bidea, 15 kms. from the finish line, Kelderman and Piccolo arrived with half a minute advantage and on the hard ramps Ayuso came out for them, clearly the trump card of the ambitious UAE
The duo lead a few seconds ahead of the chaser, but the leading group of 14 riders is also close behind.
But the group, with Alejandro Valverde and Alex Aranburu as the strengths of Movistar, did not understand each other, and became disorganized; Kelderman and Piccolo persevered and Ayuso, joined by Valentin Ferron (Total Energies) with 8 to go, also stayed in a fight that didn’t seem to give him many options.
But the arrival of Ferron gave the Spaniard wind and help to chase down the leading pair with 6 to go, when Piccolo seemed to have mechanical problems that were not confirmed.
The quartet reached the Arkotxa wall ahead, Buchmann, jumping from behind, did not chase and Ayuso imposed his terminal force on the climb to reward the work of the UAE in the best possible way and feed the illusion that he had at birth. runner in Barcelona and resident in Jávea (Alicante).
Source: La Verdad
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