An intense Volta a Loulé comes to an end: “The team has given its best in every terrain”
XVII Volta ao Concelho de Loulé Juniores
Stage 3: Loulé – Loulé (115 km)
The Volta a Loulé closed this Saturday with his queen day, a stage marked by several climbs in the mountains near the town of the Algarve in which the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team fought for catapulting Nil Aguilera inside the composition of the final podium of the Portuguese race. In the last fraction the Portuguese Daniel Lima won, rider of a Bairrada team that conquered the overall with Antonio Morgado.
Lima, Morgado, Gonçalo Tavares and the Russian Laptev made a decisive move in the last kilometres after the climb to Tor. An acceleration that allowed them to gain a crucial 40 seconds over their closest pursuers. Lucas Guillermo (11th) and Balint Feldhoffer (19th) were 46 seconds behind in a group of 19 riders.
A little further back was Nil Aguilera, although the Barcelona-born rider finally maintained his fifth place in the general classification of the race, 3’37” behind Morgado. Ninth, 5’14” behind, finished Feldhoffer, who remained in the fight for the classification of the first-year riders in which he finally finished second. Guillermo finished eleventh overall, also 5’14” behind.
Félix García Casas, director of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team in Portuguese lands: “We leave with a very good feeling. The team has given the face in all the terrains. Bairrada, especially three riders, and the Russian Laptev, have been a step ahead of everyone. But overall the whole EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team has shown a good level, looking to be protagonists of the different race situations of the three stages in line and with a team time trial in which we did a great job. In the end we have been the second team in the overall by squads of the race, and that is a reflection of a great work. A race that will allow the boys to learn, grow and progress, which is what it’s all about. Competing outside the Spanish calendar gives you other very enriching experiences”.
[📷 Laura Simão (1), Federación Portuguesa de Ciclismo (2)]
