The international road cycling season in the UCI World Tour continues its course and the calendar closed today the O Gran Camiño round, which traveled the main roads of the Galician provinces in Spain and the Colombian Egan Bernal closed his participation with his first podium of the year.
The Zipaquireño rider participated in the event that took place from February 22 to 25 and with a spectacular pace he managed to finish in third position in the general classification.
The race started from the historic surroundings of the Tower of Hercules and extended to the top of Mount Aloia. And just as he promised in his preview, he demanded the best of the participants through a route that covered a total of 502.5 kilometers within the territory of Galicia, crossing 45 municipalities.
Prior to the fourth and final stage, the Colombian from INEOS Grenadiers was positioned in second position overall and his performance was shaping up to be on the podium, an objective that he fully fulfilled.
The final fraction included a route of 132 total kilometers and was categorized as high mountain, with quite demanding climbing points. The journey began in Ponteareas, passed through Alto Cruceiro do Monte, Ponte Caldelas, Pontevedra, Alto de San Cosme and ended in the Monte Aloia Natural Park.
In the final kilometers, Frenchman Lenny Martínez launched himself like a tiger into its prey, seeking to cut time on Bernal and leader Jonas Vingegaard. This forced the two riders to step on the accelerator until the end and almost out of breath, Egan managed to limit the damage of the attack, managing to cross the finish line in just enough time to stand on the podium.
The times of the final stage recorded Jonas Vingegaard in first place (reaffirming his title of champion), in second position the Frenchman Lenny Martínez crossed the finish line, finishing 16 seconds behind the leader. In the third box the British Hugh Carty finished 45 seconds behind the first and in the fourth place Egan appeared 48 seconds behind.
With this close of the race, the general classification allowed Bernal to take third place, finishing the race a total of 2 minutes and 11 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, who recorded a total competition time of 11 hours, 20 minutes and 1 second. .
This is how the general classification of O Gran Camiño 2024 turned out
Jonas Vingegaard – Team Visma / 11 hours, 20 minutes and 1 second of race Lenny Martínez – Groupama FDJ / +1:55 minutes Egan Bernal – INEOS Grenadiers / +2:11 minutes Jefferson Cepeda – Caja Rural / +2:14 minutes Cian Uijtdebroeks – Team Visma / +2:42 minutes Hugh Carty – EF Education Easypost / +2:48 minutes Quentin Pacher – Groupama FDJ / +2:58 minutes Ruben Guerreiro – Movistar Team / +2:59 minutes Raúl Pierna García – Arkéa / +3:01 minutes Matteo Fabbro – Team Polti / +3:01 minutes
With an exciting publication on social networks, Bernal referred to the experience he had in the race. With intense cold and rain, the rider brought out the character that had not been seen for a long time:
“One of those races that build character. Cold, rain, wind, and a lot of violence, the perfect setting for a good show for those of us who love true cycling!! This podium fills me with pride and motivation, since the season is just beginning and to be next to this pair… A while ago it would have been unimaginable. Now I am returning home to continue working to continue showing that giving up is not an option.” With Infobae