Coloma-del Nero repeat triumph; Galicia dominates La Rioja

Jesús del Nero and his teammate, Carlos Coloma, dominated the sprint and repeated a 1-2 finish in the queen stage of La Rioja Bike Race by Shimano while Clàudia Galicia continues her triumphant campaign toward the final podium.

Jesús del Nero won the second stage of the 2017 La Rioja Bike Race presented by Shimano after winning the sprint against eight race favorites. The team Primaflor-Mondraker-Rotor mountain biker, who was second yesterday to Carlos Coloma, reached the finish in first position after riding 3h23’53″ to complete the 89.7 kilometers and 2,151 meters of elevation gain that marked today’s queen stage.

The General Classification leader, Carlos Coloma, finished second, and Bolivian Ever Alejandro Gomez (TBellès-Cannondale by Tactic) rounded out the podium. Carlos Coloma maintains first in the general, 2’41″ ahead of del Nero, and with a 3’15″ lead with respect to Francesc Guerra (Buff-Scott), who is third in the general.

The stage winner highlighted the teamwork, first how he protected Coloma from rival attacks, and then with a nod to Coloma, who launched del Nero to his first stage victory in La Rioja Bike Race presented by Shimano. [DECLARATIONS]

We set out to control the race so that Carlos could hold on to first place. I was with him throughout the entire first part, not allowing anyone near who was relatively close in the general. Then on a descent, he went ahead but had a small crash on the trail and I caught up to him. I have to thank him for his help because in the end I was able to win easily thanks to his lead out.”

Francesc Guerra, in turn, explained, “I felt better than in the first stage. The race landscape was incredible and there were many fun areas in the middle of the stage; the final zone was very flat but then, at kilometer 75, it was as if the stage started all over again because we regrouped and began to jockey for position for the stage win. I stayed on the fringes, thinking of moving up positions in the general and in the end, the gamble worked out well.”

The stage’s start was slower than expected and it here when Xavier Borrás (Olympia Factory Cycling) launched his attack, trapping Enrique Morcillo (Buff-Scott) and Ibón Zugasti (Orbea Factory) and escaping alone. “I was aware that they would not follow me because I lost ten minutes yesterday and I could withstand almost fifty kilometers pedaling alone. I knew they would catch me but I had to try it. In the end I got caught on the Calzada Romana and we finished very fast, battling for the stage win at the finish. Sprints are not my thing, so tomorrow we will try again,” explained Borrás.

Both Ever Alejandro Gómez and José Antonio Hermida, two of the most outstanding participants, have revealed that the pace at the end of the stage was hellish. Third in the stage classification emphasized that nobody wanted to lose contact with the lead group. “Yesterday I bonked at eight kilometers from the finish, today we put three team members in the winning group and tomorrow we will try to win,” said the Bolivian.

For his part, Hermida also advanced and will fight for the third and final stage. “My debut in this race has been a very positive experience. The stage today was fast and rolling in the beginning. In the first forty kilometers there was a large lead group. Later, on the Calzada Romana, the pace was somewhat slower and then, in the end, we sprinted to the finish line. I face tomorrow’s stage with a lot of motivation, to see if Coloma will allow somewhat of a truce.”

The queen stage of the fourth edition of La Rioja Bike Race presented by Shimano was highlighted by the speed with which the professionals rode it, however, most mountain bikers agreed at the finish that it was a hard and very demanding stage. Aleix Espargaró, pro motorcycle racer, has already competed in other MTB stage events, but said that the two days so far this year have been the hardest that he can remember. “I’m suffering a little bit but I’m having a lot of fun and getting recharged.” Today’s stage turned out to be very nice with everyone cheering, and with very hardy people participating. This is great training for motorcycle races. I’m really enjoying it,” explained Espargaró.

QOM

In the women’s elite category, the winner was again Clàudia Galicia (Polar-Trek) with a time of 3h54’37″, thus proving to be queen of the mountain (QOM – Queen Of the Mountain). The Catalan mountain biker maintains her total race domination and now counts eleven stage victories in La Rioja. In today’s queen stage she scored an eleven-minute advantage over second place Sandra Santanyes (Olympia Factory Cycling), and increased the time difference in the general to more than half an hour.

The three-time champion of La Rioja Bike Race presented by Shimano was very happy at the finish and explained, “I climbed very well and I was descending even better than yesterday, so I hope I’ve improved my position in the General Classification.” Santanyes, who finished second in the first stage, noted her improvement, “I felt much better than yesterday; I overcame my back pain and I have been able to enjoy racing much more. I hope to maintain this dynamic and finish the race well.”

Third place in the women’s elite category went to Raquel Lisbona (Corriol), who has been mountain biking for six months; this is her first podium. “I knew I was riding in third because I was climbing very well during the first part of the stage, but I thought they would overtake me on the flats.”

Detailed information

The queen stage delivered all the excitement that it promised and the new features included in the race have hit the spot. For the first time, the race passed over the western face of the Sierra de Moncalvillo. It started by rolling over easy trails where Enrique Morcillo and Ibón Zugasti tried to make the first break of the day. Without leaving any option, Xavi Borrás reacted after a bad first stage, caught them, and left them behind to go on to Santa Coloma (Km 26) alone.

The Valencian mountain biker led the stage while the route took all participants through the Yalde reservoir and its grand ascent through a beautiful beech tree forest with a multitude of horseshoe curves. After reaching the summit (km 34), the group of favorites tried to reach Borrás all while crossing meadows with spectacular views, until the Plandero descent (Km 41), which ended in the town of Torrecilla de Cameros (Km 47). Up to this point, the entire stage had been practically new but when the racers started up the well-known Calzada Romana, Borrás’s dream was over.

The new twist to the Calzada Romana was that it was ridden in the direction opposite of past editions (from south to north). From this point the lead group increased the pace to the town of Viguera (Km 62). From here, there were practically no technical sections left, and the return to the finish — almost identical to the previous day but avoiding the final Pico del Águila loop — was marked both by the efforts of race favorites gunning for the stage win, and by the white-hot speed with which the stage finished, which resulted in lowering the expected finishing time by more than half an hour.