The Ecuadorians were the strongest on Saturday, Richard Carapaz (EF Education – EasyPost) ahead of Jonathan Caicedo (Petrolike), but it was a local rider, Rodrigo Contreras (Nu Colombia), third in the queen stage, who retained the lead. head of the general classification on the eve of the finish of the Tour of Colombia. He is ahead of Carapaz and Caicedo.
The winner was able to benefit from his knowledge of the ascent of the Alto del Vino, “a torture of almost an hour (30.2 km at 5.7% and 2000 m of elevation) of which I knew almost every meter, because I trained here when I was a hopeful,” he said upon arrival. And he especially benefited from the superiority of his team, since four pink EF jerseys appeared in the group of 8, 8 kilometers from the summit. Group of which Nairo Quintana was the only one absent among the favorites, dropped at 20 miles.
Can the last step change everything?
Carapaz, the local Esteban Chaves, Jefferson Cepeda and to a lesser extent Rigoberto Uran took turns to attack. Until the decisive blow delivered by the Ecuadorian 4 kilometers from the finish, only followed by Caicedo, clinching a little further on. “It was a super important stage for us, we took advantage of our surplus and we chose the opportune moment to strike the decisive blow and hold on until the finish,” appreciated the 2021 Olympic champion.
Carried by a furious public, making the last ramps of the Alto del Vino look like a pass of the Tour de France in July, Carapaz did not, however, open up a sufficient gap with his pursuers. And in particular the Rodrigo Contreras Yellow Jersey. Third, 17 seconds behind the winner, the climber who passed through Astana (29 years old) remains the overall leader with 17 seconds ahead of the Ecuadorian and 24 over Caicedo.
The final stage, Sunday, offers one last opportunity with its steep climb (divided into three hills of 3 to 4 km and percentages ranging from 4 to 7), the summit of which is located 12 kilometers from the finish. “This stage won’t make a big difference, but if we have the opportunity, we will try to win,” said Carapaz, already happy to start his season with a success.
