In Fernando Gaviria’s thoughts, there was just one clear shot at glory on this Tour Colombia. In a race deep within the coronary heart of mountain nation, the flat, opening leg to Duitama offered the one agency assure for the quick males.
Small marvel, then, that the finale to stage 1 was so frantic. Mark Cavendish‘s Astana-Qazaqstan practice did their greatest to take management within the rain-slicked remaining kilometre, however they had been swamped close by of the road. Though Cavendish and firm spent the previous three weeks coaching at altitude, the results of competing at 2,500 metres above sea stage had been certainly nonetheless an element right here.
Gaviria, born and raised at altitude in Le Ceya, definitely had no bother gauging his effort on the identical ending straight the place Abraham Olano claimed the rainbow jersey in 1995. The Colombian tripped evenly from wheel to wheel within the finale, finally monitoring Davide Persico (WB-Bingoal) after which overpowering the Italian within the closing 100 metres.
Persico managed to get himself barely hemmed in by the obstacles and he raised a hand in protest as he crossed the road, however there was no compelling purpose for the commissaires to revise the end result. Gaviria held his line and, crucially, his pace to say the primary yellow jersey of the race. Persico took second, whereas Cavendish sprinted to 3rd.
“It isn’t that I did it on objective. I wasn’t making an attempt to shut you off,” Gaviria advised Persico past the end line.
It was much less an apology than a easy assertion of reality. It was merely that type of dash. Gaviria discovered a niche and he had the pace to hold it house.
“It was complete chaos,” Gaviria mentioned when he took a seat in RCN‘s studio past the end line. “With 2k to go, we had been a good distance again. However then I discovered a niche and I began passing and passing… When the dash began, I mentioned to myself I simply needed to go for it. I feel Astana went fairly early, however ultimately, I used to be capable of do a superb dash.”
On leaving the beginning in Paipa, the opening hour of the stage was run off at a searing 48 kph, however Gaviria wasn’t fazed by that early tempo.
“It was a peaceful stage, properly managed by each Astana and Movistar,” he shrugged within the combined zone afterwards. When Gaviria took a seat within the press tent an hour or so later, he added that he and Cavendish had struck an settlement to maintain the break’s lead inside a minute or so.
“I spoke about it with Mark beforehand, we determined that we could not give the break loads of area as we speak,” mentioned Gaviria. He was later held up by a crash with 50km or so remaining, however the incident did nothing to knock him off his stride.
One other quick begin
Even so, Gaviria confessed to some doubts earlier than arriving at this Tour Colombia to begin his second season in Movistar blue. His first time period with Eusebio Unzué’s staff had began on an upbeat word with a stage win on the Vuelta a San Juan, however the marketing campaign yielded just one extra win, on the Tour de Romandie, and he raced sparingly after drawing a clean on the Giro d’Italia. He returned to Colombia over the winter to start another time.
“The reality is that earlier than I obtained right here, I had my doubts as a result of my preparation was tough,” Gaviria mentioned. “However I did have good numbers once I was doing sprints in coaching, so I knew I might nonetheless be aggressive. And I knew this was the one alternative often because the phases begin getting tougher from right here on. There are phases that swimsuit the break, arduous to regulate, so we’re already pleased with this.”
For Gaviria, an early victory on South American roads appears nearly de rigueur. He has now claimed a dash win at his first stage race of the season in eight of the previous 10 years. The exceptions had been in 2021 and 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented top-level racing in Colombia and Argentina, compelling him to begin his marketing campaign unsuccessfully elsewhere.
Gaviria will hope this newest triumph is an omen for the yr forward reasonably than a false daybreak. For the remainder of the week, in the meantime, his position is to work reasonably than to win. Nairo Quintana and Ivan Sosa will come to the fore for Movistar on the uphill finale to Santa Rosa de Viterbo on stage 2.
“I’ve obtained the yellow jersey now, however in actuality, I will need to placed on the gregario’s jersey to any extent further, as a result of many of the remainder of the phases are too arduous for me,” mentioned Gaviria. “I will be returning the favour to my teammates.”
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