The European Cyclocross Championship held in Pontevedra will go down in the history of national cycling after Felipe Orts gave the Spanish National Team its first continental medal at an individual level. To this silver, obviously, we must add the bronze won in the Team Relay yesterday by Pascual Momparler’s pupils. The national team leaves the Galician town performing a magnificent role, with numerous runners placed in the European TOP10, and offering a beautiful show to the large audience present on the banks of the Lérez River.
As for Felipe Orts, the man from Alicante arrived in excellent shape at a circuit where he already knew what it was like to win on several occasions, but in this case, he had to deal with the always Belgian favorites.
Thibau Nys, Eli Iserbyt, Michael Vanthourenthout were some of the names that emerged as possible candidates for victory in this European Championship; However, Felipe Orts had the support of the public who carried him along. In the early stages, the race remained very close, with the Belgian dominating from the start, until with five laps remaining, Felipe Orts took control of the group. The man from Alicante tried to make room for the 21-year-old Belgian Thibau Nys, a very difficult rival to beat. They both left alone, but another opponent also appeared behind them, the Belgian, Eli Iserbyt. Nys pushed again with two laps remaining, and this time Felipe Orts came to his wheel, whose understanding with the Belgian was vital in releasing his rivals. Both played for victory in the last lap, where an attack by the U23 world champion in Hoogerheide was crucial for Orts’ aspirations. Nys won his first elite continental title, while Felipe Orts, who was three seconds behind the Belgian, savored with the Spanish fans a silver that tastes like gold due to the way in which it was produced. Iserbyt entered third, six seconds behind the Alicante rider. Regarding the other Spaniards, Kevin Suárez finished thirteenth, 1:38 behind the winner, while Mario Junquera finished in 21st place, 3:51 behind Nys.
For its part, in the elite women’s category the dominance of the Dutch has been impressive. Alvarado, Van Empel and Brand took control of the race from the beginning, in a group that Lucía González and Sofía Rodríguez held on to in the first laps. With three laps remaining, the Asturian clung to tenth place, fighting it until the end, and thus achieving her best result in a European Championship, reaching 50 seconds behind the winner, the world champion Fem Van Empel who won the sprint to Ceylin Alvarado. Sofía Rodríguez came in 14th position, while Alicia González, Sara Cueto and Lucía Gómez occupied positions 17, 18 and 19, respectively.
Among the U23s, Miguel Rodríguez and Raúl Mira offered a true race of sacrifice and honor. Both came to ride in positions close to 15th place, but as the test went on, the duo, who practically rode together at all times, moved up positions. With two laps to go, both already glimpsed 10th place, and quickly headed in search of the most notable positions. The man from Pontevedra finished in seventh position, 25 seconds behind the Belgian Michels, while the man from Tibi finished four seconds later than his teammate from Froiz in ninth position. For his part, Emilio Reinoso finished in 26th position, while Tomás Pombo had to abandon after suffering mechanical problems. Regarding the U23s, Aroa Otero was the best classified of the national team, finishing in 16th place; Laura Mira ranked 18th; while Nahia Arana and Adriana Alguacil were 19th and 20th, respectively, in a race that the Frenchwoman Célia Gery won in the sprint.
Among the juniors, Benjamín Noval was one step away from achieving a bronze medal in a true recital by the Asturian. The first-year junior had to overcome a difficult start and a puncture while riding in the lead position. Noval had to change bikes, which caused him to be relegated to ninth place. Despite this, he returned when he reached the front group, where the Italian Mattia Agostinacchio set the pace. The transalpine left in the final stages to win the continental title, while the Spaniard fought for the podium in the last lap. Despite a powerful final sprint, the son of a former professional runner was just one second away from the bronze medal, leaving a very good feeling for a runner from his youth. Of the rest of the junior team, Martín Fernández and Sergio Gámez were 14th and 15th, respectively; Martí Martínez ranked 27th; Raúl Puelles, the 30th, and Nestor Frías, the 42nd.
Among the women, Lorena Patiño once again offered the public another great comeback, in true BTT style. The woman from Pontevedra had a mistake at the start, which caused her to have to row against the current throughout the entire test. The Spanish champion was climbing positions with each step by lap, until reaching a creditable tenth place, 35 seconds behind the Swiss Anja Grossmann, continental winner. Great work from the rest of the runners, with Aitana Gutiérrez, Ana López, Maier Olano, Nahia García and Lidia Castro, taking from 16th to 20th place.
The Spanish National Team leaves this European Championship in Pontevedra having performed the best performance in its history in the continental event, adding its first two medals and achieving great results in the final classifications.
You can follow all the information regarding the performance of the Spanish National Team through the hashtag #TeamESPciclismo, while the official hashtag of the European Championship is #EuroCross24.
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