The Tour of Spain may set a new record for cycling in South America

<

div id=””>

<

div class=”faldonpatro” style=”margin-left:0px;”><img src=”http://www.esciclismo.com/imagenes/logo-continental-noticia.png” alt=”Continental "onload =" gtag ('event', 'event', {'event_category': 'advertising', 'event_action': 'impression', 'event_label': 'Continental news Return', 'value': 'view'} ); "/>

EsCiclismo.com · Road Competition · 08/20/2019

With the victory of Richard Carapaz in the Giro d'Italia and that of Egan Bernal in the Tour de France, the Latin American runners already add two great laps in 2019, matching almost those accumulated by their predecessors in the last three decades (La Vuelta 1987 de Herrera y el Giro 2014 and Vuelta 16 of Nairo Quintana). Thus, the 74th edition of the Cycling Tour of Spain could set a new record for the continent and Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Urn, Miguel Angel Lpez or Richard Carapaz are some of the candidates to achieve it.
In 2018, three different British riders (Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates) managed to win the three big laps of the annual cycling calendar. An impressive record, indito so far for a single country, and that is a challenge to match. But what happens in 2019? The Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and the Colombian Egan Bernal have swept the English domain and have put Latin American rhythm to the Verona and Pars pdiums, waiting for the Madrid one to consecrate the winner of La Vuelta 19 (to be held on August 24 to September 15).
Back to its origins in Zipaquir to savor its historic triumph, Bernal is not the first Colombian to win two “ greats in the same season, after becoming the first coffee maker to parade yellow through the Elseos Fields. But his countrymen are firm candidates for the final victory after three weeks and almost 3,300 km of competition. After two and a half months without competing after the Giro, Richard Carapaz, whose personal history is located on horseback between Ecuador and Colombia, has finished third in the Tour of Burgos. A test that has served to get in tune before descending to the Costa Blanca and take the exit of La Vuelta 19, from the Salinas de Torrevieja.
Leading the Movistar team, Carapaz could become the fourth runner in history to achieve a victory in the Giro and La Vuelta in the same season; the first after Alberto Contador in 2008. The Ecuadorian played his first major in La Vuelta 17 (finish 36) and, after his unexpected victory in the 2019 Giro, he now starts as a favorite to victory in La Vuelta. His triumph in Italy demonstrated his ability to seize the opportunities presented to him on all types of terrain, taking out the best strategic facet of the Movistar team, who returns to La Vuelta with his best arguments.
The Navarre formation, which relied on the veteran of Murcia Alejandro Valverde also has in its ranks the last Latin winner of La Vuelta: Nairo Quintana, crowned in Madrid in 2016. Although Bernal snatched his yellow dream, the Cndor of Tunja is still the forerunner who opened it to a new generation of beetles called to fulfill the dreams of Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra. In the last Tour de France, Quintana once again demonstrated strength and pride, achieving an unquestionable solo stage victory after crowning the Col Col Galibier himself.
In Pars, Quintana recognizes the "pride" she feels when she sees Bernal wear the yellow shirt for Colombia. He also remembered how difficult it is for Latin American runners to make the leap beyond the Atlantic Ocean to make their way into Europe. In his case, he has shown winning La Vuelta (2016), the Giro (2014) and being the only Latin American to get on the pdium of the three great laps. He still has in his hands (and on his legs) the possibility of writing a new page in the history of La Vuelta and in the palm of his continent before leaving the Movistar formation, which he sponsored in his European beginnings there by 2012.
Three weeks separate the birth of Quintana from Esteban Chaves, who leaves behind his physical hardships of recent seasons to defend the ambitions of the Mitchelton-Scott team. The Australian formation expects the smiling Colombian to succeed his partner Simon Yates in the Spanish final pdium. Absent in the last edition of La Vuelta, `Chavito accompanies Quintana at the Madrid pdium in 2016 (3), a year after getting his first stage victories in a Grande, at the peaks of Caminito del Rey and the Sierra de Casserole
Among Colombian cycling veterans, Rigoberto Urn (Education First) participates with 32 years to his sixth edition of La Vuelta. The great Spanish round has been recurring frustration for Rigo (Warren Barguil won by a few millimeters in the goal of the 16th stage of La Vuelta 13, as the photo-photo-finish stated). Last year the experienced Colombian showed better sensations finishing seventh overall and testing a great regularity in the mountains and enviable legs in the last week (it was 4 and 5 of the last two great mountain stages in Andorra).
In the ranks of the American team, he will be accompanied by two young Colombian talents: Daniel Martnez, who missed the Tour for an unfortunate each during a training in the month of June and Sergio Higuita who integrated the ranks of the Eusakdi Foundation this season but who achieved make the leap to the World Tour in the month of May. Since then, he accumulates a second place in the California tour and a fourth place in the Poland tour, his only two careers so far with the EF Education First training. For his first big lap, Huguita tried to avoid the traps that ended Miguel Ngel Lopez's options in the first week of La Vuelta 16. The Colombian climber discovers the three-week races and accuses several falls at the start of the competition. Since then its progress has been fulminant: eighth with two stage victories in 2017 and third in La Vuelta 18. "This third place was the minimum we can expect," said at the time.
The old continent present another former winner of La Vuelta, the Italian Fabio Aru. Team Jumbo-Visma renews its Tour and Tour leaders: Primoz Roglic (3 in Italy), who can become the first Slovenian winner of a Grand Tour and Steven Kruijswijk, who hopes to improve his third place in the overall Tour and celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Joop Zoetemelk's victory in La Vuelta (1979). Also, why not, honor the memory of the success of Jan Janssen (1967), the only two Dutch triumphs in the Palmars of La Vuelta. But first, they will have to face the Latin American army that seems to have taken the reins of the big laps this year.

EsCiclismo – All rights reserved. Reproduction is prohibited without express written authorization.