Colombian Fernando Gaviria raised his arms again after almost a year of drought to give Movistar victory in the fourth stage of the Tour of San Juan between the Villicum a Barreal Autodrome, with a course of 196.5 kilometers, the victory that was joined by the leader Jersey.
Gaviria (La Ceja, 28 years old), signed his last victory in the Tour of Oman on February 15, 2022. Since then, the “missile” was unprecedented, withered. This season he went to Movistar, and in the fourth race with the blue jersey he recovered in a controversial sprint that saw him beat Slovak Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) and Italian Filippo Ganna (Ineos).
The Colombian also signed the ninth victory in the Argentine race with a time of 4:35:28, averaging 42.8 km/h, a historic day for the new Movistar racing car, which already has 50 victories to its name to stand.
The Spanish team worked on the sprint. Most of the sprinters were cut off in the first ascent, which selected the number of candidates. Without Jakobsen, without Bennett and others, Gaviria couldn’t let the prey escape, and his team worked hard for the Colombian.
Fourth overall change in 4 days. Gaviria put on the white jersey with light blue panels that adorns the leader in San Juan. The man from La Ceja will arrive on rest day as the test skipper, perhaps for one day, as the queens mountain stage arrives in Alto del Colorado on Friday. They are followed in the standings by Peter Sagan at 10 seconds and Ganna at 14.
“I didn’t expect a win. I’ve been through some tough times, but now I’m on my way again. It’s a great win for this team, who support me so much,” said Gaviria at the finish.
It was a mid-mountain day with the first difficulties of this edition. Baños de Talacasto (3rd Cat.), the ascent of Virgen de Andacollo (1st Cat.), at an altitude of 2,200 meters and the Alto de Calingasta (3rd Cat.) were the motivators before heading towards the goal of Barreal.
At the start Soudal sang “Happy Birthday” for Remco Evenepoel, who turns 23. Then the pack started fighting in the beginning. A breakaway of 25 men formed, including Egan Bernal. In the port of La Virgen de Andacollo, many sprinters had to give way from the leading group.
Huge gallop on the way to Barreal, a town in the Calingasta Valley, a desert landscape that transforms into a scenario of the foothills of the Andes, with snowy peaks looming on the horizon. General José de San Martín’s column departed from that area at the crossing of the Andes to liberate Chile and Peru, and the 50-man group that was going to play the stage formed in that area.
Opportunity for Movistar, very sweet. The blue team has worked hard for the glory day of their brand new addition. But there was Peter Sagan and Viviani, also protected by TotalEnergies and Ineos.
The sprint erupted from afar. Gaviria attacked early, raising doubts, but the Colombian appeared to be in a state of grace. He was in a hurry to thank Movistar for signing. And the fourth was the charm. Almost a year later, a chic sprinter returned, a runner with 5 stages of the Giro and 2 of the Tour to his name. Party at Movistar.
This Thursday, the peloton will enjoy a rest day that will serve to regain strength for Friday’s queen stage between Chimbas and Alto del Colorado, a rising finish that will be decisive.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
