Alejandro Marque (OFM/Quinta da Lixa) won the time trial of the penultimate stage and took the lead in the 75th Tour of Portugal Liberty Seguros.
In the 35,3 kilometers of individual fight against the chronometer between Sabugal and Guarda, the Galician runner spent 49 minutes and six seconds.
Compatriot and Marque's teammate Gustavo Veloso had the second-best record at 36 seconds.
The former leader, Rui Sousa (Efapel / Glassdrive), couldn't get better than third place, almost a minute and a half behind the winner, and dropped to the last place on the podium.
Alejandro Marque repeated, this Saturday, the triumph already achieved in the time trial of the Volta last year, but this time with a special flavor, because the victory allowed him to reach the Liberty Seguros Yellow Jersey.
“I felt good before going out on the road and I always believed I could win. I won, but if it had been Gustavo Veloso, I would also be happy because we are great friends. I do a positive assessment of the performance of the OFM/Quinta da Lixa team in this Volta a Portugal. Rui Sousa also deserved to win a Tour, he had a very beautiful race, but we managed to manage the race better. I dedicate the victory to my wife, my son, the team and all those who support me”, said the 31-year-old runner, born in Pontevedra, Galicia and a reference in the time trial.
Among several triumphs in this specialty, and in addition to the victory in Leiria in 2012, he also won the bronze medal at the championships in Spain last year.
Algarvians with a very discreet service
From the “Algarvians”, the best time trial was the Chilean Carlos Oyarzun, at the service of Louletano/Dunas Douradas, who spent 3.00 more minutes than the winner and classified in 14th position.
On the other hand, David Livramento, from Tavira, was the fastest in the Banco BIC/Carmim team, not having gone beyond the 77th position.
In the General classification, he is also a man from Loulé who has the highest classification among cyclists in the Algarve's formations. It is Rui Vinhas (15th). It is followed by Henrique Casimiro (23rd) from Banco BiC/Carmim.
By teams, Louletano/Dunas Douradas is 14th out of 17 teams, while Banco BIC/Carmim is the last, reflecting what has happened in this Tour, in which the Algarve teams have been moved away from the top positions.
Galician succeeds Galician
After the 9th stage, there is now only one more day to finish the competition and Alejandro Marque is on the lookout to succeed his compatriot and friend David Blanco as the winner of the Tour.
Like Blanco, Marque has also made a career at the service of several Portuguese teams, namely the professional training of Tavira.
With the 130 kilometers left of the 10th stage, which will be the consecration, Alejandro Marque has a 4 second advantage over Gustavo Veloso, the second placed.
Third overall and the best Portuguese is Rui Sousa, 50 seconds off the lead.
Sousa lost the Yellow Jersey, but regained the Banco BIC Red Jersey, symbol of the leadership in points classification.
The other classifications were the same with Márcio Barbosa (LA Alumínios/Antarte), who had already secured the title of “King of the Mountain” and the respective PODIUM Blue Jersey the day before.
The Youth Prize, White Jersey RTP, remains in the possession of Kazakh Vladislav Gorbunov (Astana).
10th Stage - 18 August
Viseu – Viseu (130 km)
This Sunday, cycling is associated, in Viseu, with the great popular festivities of S. Mateus. The squad will complete the 10th and final stage, departing and arriving at the majestic Avenida da Europa.
There are 130km that pass in the various points of the county, constituting the shortest taken in a line.
In the final part of the route, the runners will travel through the urban center of Viseu several times, allowing the thousands of people who will attend the Grand Final of the Volta to have more contact with the competition.
It will be the day of the consecration of the winners of the 75th Tour of Portugal Liberty Seguros.
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