The conclusions of Colombia in the Tour of Spain

[Akrapovic]

Nairo was fourth and Lopez fifth.

The Colombian cycling came in search of one more title in one of the big three: the Vuelta a España, but in the end it reached for the fourth place of Nairo Quintana and his stage victory, the partial victory of Sergio Higuita and the fifth place in the general of Miguel Ángel López, results that will remain for the story. Here, the conclusions.
1. Two more stage wins. Benidorm and Calpe was the second stage. Primoz Roglic, the champion, came from losing 40’s in team time on the first day and had to recover. With his attack on the second day he brought several favorites, including Nairo Quintana.
Tadej Pogacar, the new rival of Egan Bernal
Roglic, world ski champion to win the Tour
3 km from the end of the day, the boyacense left the group, went in search of a victory that he could celebrate in the end, the second in his resume in the Tour and 33 of Colombian cycling.
Then Sergio Higuita, in his debut in a big one, won the stage between Colmenar Viejo and Becerril de la Sierra, confirming that at 22 he can give much more than he has to fight a general. Triumph 34 of Colombia in the competition.
Sergio Higuita
The Colombian Sergio Higuita, winner of stage 18 of the Tour of Spain 2019.
2. Some of lime and others of sand. Although the stage wins were important, the accident of Rigoberto Urán and the performance of Fernando Gavira was not good.
Uran fell in stage 6 and went to the hospital, where he has not left, after the fracture of the left clavicle, the shoulder blade and two ribs that compromised his lung, leaving behind the possibility of fighting for the podium.
Gaviria arrived with the illusion of winning stages, but left blank. The fall of the UAE Emirates team in the first stage gave him hard, he could not recover and, in addition, he did not have the physical capacity to obtain a partial victory, in a season for oblivion.
3. Without bread and without cheese. Nairo reached the penultimate stage in the third drawer of the podium and his compatriot Miguel Ángel López in the fourth. The fight for the podium was Colombian, but on that day the attack by Tadej Pogacar, who was fifth, and the passivity of the two runners broke up in order to finish on the podium.
Once Pogacar left, Movistar and Nairo tried to chase, but found no alliance. Astana, of López, who was interested, because Slovenian was dangerous when the fight for the first place in the youth classification did not give relief, and in a single day the work of the previous three weeks was lost.
Neither podium nor shirt of a better young man, in a day to forget about Colombian cycling.
4. Lopez, to talk with the legs. Miguel Ángel López came to the Tour as the second favorite in the title, after Roglic, but did not respond. Although he was combative, he always attacked, he lacked strength at the end and lost the podium, the best young shirt and was fifth.
He also raised controversies with his statements. They are "dumb and stupid" he told his colleagues at Movistar, after the acceleration of the Spanish squad after a massive fall.
He treated Alejandro Valverde badly, in a clear lack of respect. Sure, then he retracted, apologized, but the evil was done.
He promised strong, decisive attacks, but he did not jump. In cycling, the best climber is not the one who attacks the most times, but the one who does it decisively and at the right time.
And when he had to fight for the podium and defend the white shirt of best young man did not appear, his forces were not with him, his team did not help chase Pogacar, escaped and enemy, and lost any option.
We always prepare to come one hundred percent. We are calm
"Nothing happens. We are calm because we tried from beginning to end. Things did not happen. That is another story. We always prepare to come one hundred percent. We are calm. We were a good group. We have many more great laps left. "said Lopez.
In the Tour of Italy he also came as a favorite and finished seventh. And he also starred in a controversial event, when an amateur knocked him down, he stood up and hit his fist.
Negative image of Lopez, who must concentrate more on pedaling, prepare better and not be the protagonist of controversial events. The falls and the punctures were his enemies, but he must learn to react with the hot blood, the great champions do so.
5. Nairo, did anyone expect more from him? Nairo Quintana lost the podium on the penultimate day, like his compatriot Lopez. In the end, he placed fourth in the general and won a stage, in a performance, for some, disappointing.
The last triumph of Quintana in a classification dates from 2017 and the last time he was a podium in a big one was in the same year, statistics that tell us that two years ago it is not good, that his performance has dropped and is not the same Cyclist who is the most winning Colombian in history.