Behind him, the Atlantic, wild ocean, rocked the dance of the agonistic joy of Michael Woods, very much alive on the Costa da Morte, the cemetery of so many people. On the facade of the Mirador de Ézaro, the sky on which the Canadian walked in front Valverde lead The big waySailors looked to the horizon to find a cloud of steam rising from the sea. The Xallas River cascades down from the heights onto the Atlantic. From the brutal clash between the two waters, the fresh and the salty, a column of water rises up and can be seen for miles around. Land in sight! Woods.
The Mirador de Ézaro is the observatory of this water obelisk, of this magic lighthouse. Hypnotic and seductive, it deceives. Mermaid sings. Accessing its beauty requires enduring a trial. Before you can admire the postcard, cyclists beg for mercy, bent over, coiled in pain, crawling on crazy 30% ramps. Reverse waterfall. 1.8 kilometers of difficulty even on sunny days. Probably the bucolic postcard aspect accentuates the brutality of an ascent as beautiful as it is wild.
On this steep track, Woods was the strongest. A specialist in atrocious and tortuous peaks, as when he beckoned to Oiz, – the Canadian who was a great athlete in the 1,500 meters before turning to cycling due to injuries – Woods broke the resistance of Valverde, the Movistar emblem. The woods wrapped around the most demanding part of the climb. The others lowered their heads. The Canadian has reached the top, which he remembered from 2020, –Roglic won the Vuelta time trial–, alone with a 16-second lead over Valverde. “I did this climb in 2020 and I knew it was really tough. That’s why I’m happy to have won,” Woods said. The Canadian will defend from above the leadership of the Galician race two days from the end.
POGACAR, ROGLIC AND COVERS
The UAE Tour has the closure of this Saturday, where it is supposed to reign Tadej Pogacar, strong test leader. In this Friday’s stage he won Mathias Vaeck, who finished the breakaway on a day designed for sprinting, but Vacek skipped the script. Pogacar wants to accomplish it and plans to deliver the knockout blow at the top of Jebel Hafeet, which will induct the UAE Tour champion.
Another Slovenian Primoz Roglic, Pogacar’s main rival, begins its journey this Saturday at the Classique Faun-Ardèche in France. It will be the first day of competition for Roglic. Sunday he will be at the start of the Drome Classic. Among the Belgian classics, Omloop is making its way this Saturday, the first point of contact with lovers of cobblestones and classics. Van Aert, Pidcock, Asgreen, Stuyven, Colbrelli or Sagan look quickly
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