Ricardo Mestre (Carmim-Prio-Tavira) won this Sunday, for the second consecutive year, the Torres Vedras International Grand Prix – Joaquim Agostinho Trophy, after a luxurious performance, both personal and team, in the third and final stage of the race, a 165,3 kilometer link between Atouguia da Baleia and the Carvoeira Wind Farm.
The shot, with the end of a second category mountain count, began to define itself in the first category climb, in the Montejunto mountains, just over 40 kilometers from the finish.
It was there that Carmim-Prio-Tavira dynamited the peloton, putting Ricardo Mestre and Nelson Vitorino at the front of the race, who were only accompanied by José Gonçalves (Onda-Boavista) and Mikhail Antonov (Lokosphinx).
The yellow jersey at the start, Iker Camaño (Endura Racing), without any teammate to help him, and Efapel-Glassdrive, only with Filipe Cardoso, already worn out from having participated in the first escape of the day, and Sérgio Ribeiro, were powerless to stop the tavirenses' tactical move.
On the final climb, which lasted only 2,2 kilometers, but with ramps that reached 15%, Ricardo Mestre broke away from the competition, passing the goal isolated. José Gonçalves was second, at 20 seconds. Coming from back to front, Sérgio Ribeiro still managed to be third, at 26 seconds.
With the end of this stage, Ricardo Mestre snatched the yellow jersey, concluding the Grand Prix with a 20-second advantage over Spanish Iker Camaño, second-placed, and 27 seconds ahead of José Gonçalves.
“The stage was tough, but we knew that it was necessary to attack in the toughest stage. We planned these moves from the beginning of the shoot and managed to successfully implement the strategy outlined previously”, explained Ricardo Mestre.
In the remaining classifications, Sérgio Ribeiro confirmed the possession of the shirt by points and teammate César Fonte did the same for the flying goals.
Russian Mikhail Antonov, very active throughout the journey, recovered his mountain jersey, and José Gonçalves won the youth classification with superiority. Onda-Boavista won by teams.
Classification of the 3rd Stage
Atouguia da Baleia – Carvoeira Wind Farm, 165,3km
1st Ricardo Mestre (Carmine-Prio-Tavira), 4:11:23 (Average: 39,454 km/h)
2nd José Gonçalves (Onda-Boavista), 20s
3th Sérgio Ribeiro (Efapel-Glassdrive), at 26s
4th Daniel Silva (Onda-Boavista), mt
5th Iker Camaño (Endura Racing), mt
6th José Mendes (LA-Antarte), mt
7th Célio Sousa (Onda-Boavista), mt
8nd Ioannis Tamouridis (SP Tableware), 33s
9th Sergey Belykh (Lokosphinx), at 42s
10th Hugo Sancho (LA-Antarte), at 44s
General Individual
1st Ricardo Mestre (Carmine-Prio-Tavira), 11:42:45
2nd Iker Camaño (Endura Racing), 20s
3nd José Gonçalves (Onda-Boavista), 27s
4th Sérgio Ribeiro (Efapel-Glassdrive), at 37s
5nd Ioannis Tamouridis (SP Tableware), 40s
6th José Mendes (LA-Antarte), 49s
7th Daniel Silva (Onda-Boavista), at 56s
8.º António Carvalho (Mortágua), at 1m03s
9th Edgar Pinto (LA-Antarte), at 1m05s
10th Célio Sousa (Onda-Boavista), at 1m14s
General Collective
1st Onda-Boavista, 35h10:43s
2nd La-Antarte, at 21s
3rd Lokosphinx, at 5m23s
General Points
1st Sérgio Ribeiro (Efapel-Glassdrive), 61
2nd José Gonçalves (Onda-Boavista), 36
3rd Iker Camaño (Endura Racing), 30
General Mountain
1nd Mikhail Antonov (Lokosphinx), 35
2rd Nelson Vitorino (Carmine-Prio-Tavira), 30
3rd Ricardo Mestre (Carmine-Prio-Tavira), 23
General Flying Goals
1st César Fonte (Efapel-Glassdrive), 19
2th Filipe Cardoso (Efapel-Glassdrive), 7
3nd Mikhail Antonov (Lokosphinx), 7
general youth
1st José Gonçalves (Onda-Boavista)
2nd António Carvalho (Mortágua)
3rd André Mourato (Liberty Seguros/Fair/Specialized)
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