In the penultimate stage of the Vuelta, the Colombian ‘Superman’ did something rarely, if ever, seen in professional cycling. At the start of the day López was still third in the standings, by the end of the day his name had disappeared from the list.
What had happened? At an unguarded moment in the race, López had missed the trick. While general classification leader Primoz Roglic, teammate Enric Mas and especially his competitors for the podium Jack Haig and Adam Yates slipped away, López got into a chasing group with fellow countryman Egan Bernal.
Maarten Ducrot, former rider and cycling commentator, had also been watching with open mouth. “He was cheated in the race. You have to imagine how that goes in such a group. Everyone is laughing at López there. You want to be on the podium so badly? Just close the gap. Won’t you do it? Also good.”
Anger and frustration
What happened next has rarely been seen in professional cycling. Out of pure anger and frustration, López threw his bike aside and refused to get on again. The images did not appear live on the broadcast, but reporters from Spanish television did capture the scene.
