The first Portuguese victory of the 75th Tour of Portugal Liberty Seguros came in Viana do Castelo, exactly the birthplace of Rui Sousa (Efapel/Glassdrive), the first to reach Monte de Santa Luzia at the end of the 2nd stage link between Oliveira de Azeméis and the “Princess of Lima”.
Sousa, born in Barroselas, parish of Viana do Castelo, took advantage of the fact that he knew the terrain well and crossed the finish line in front of a group of 13 runners timed with the winner's time.
At his doorstep and with a large phalanx of support, Rui Sousa “officialized” his candidacy for the final triumph in the Volta.
“This victory is a dream come true. I want to win the Volta a Portugal, but triumphing in my city, together with my fans, in this beautiful landscape, is an indescribable emotion. I would like to have gotten the Yellow Jersey already today to dedicate it to all those who support me”, said the 37-year-old runner.
The arrival at one of the ex libris of the “Princess of Lima” revolutionized the classification of the 75th Tour of Portugal Liberty Seguros.
The German Christoph Pfingsten (Cycling Team de Rijke / Shanks) lost command of the race to Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling). The Swiss confessed that he was surprised to wear the Liberty Seguros Yellow Jersey.
“It's going to be hard to keep this sweater on. The cobblestone climb was complicated and I didn't realize how ahead I was in the race in the last few meters. That's why I was surprised to have reached the leadership of the race”, explained the Swiss runner, 27 years old, who finished the stage in tenth position, but with Sousa's time, which allowed him to take the lead.
With this Friday's standings, Efapel / Glassdrive leads by teams and dominates the podium places because César Fonte is second and Rui Sousa third. Neighbors and teammates are 4 seconds away from first place.
In addition to the victory in the stage completed at Monte de Santa Luzia, which counted as a 3rd category mountain prize, Rui Sousa also reached the leadership of climbers and wears the PODIUM Blue Jersey.
Maxime Daniel (Sojasun) leads the overall ranking by points and wears the BANCO BIC Red Jersey.
The RTP White Jersey, for the best young man, is now in the possession of Vladislav Gorbunov (Astana).
Discreet Algarve team cyclists
Of the cyclists of the Algarve teams, the highlights of the day went to Micail Isidoro and Rui Vinhas, from the Louletano/Dunas Douradas team, who ranked 15th and 16th, respectively, in this 2nd stage.
From Tavira Banco BIC/Carmim's team, the first to arrive was João Pereira, in 23rd place in the stage.
In the General Classification, the best cyclists in the Algarve are the “Louletanos” Micail Isidoro (26th) and Rui Vinhas (27th). Of the “tavirenses”, the best is Henrique Casimiro, in 58th.
By teams, after this 2nd stage, Louletano/Dunas Douradas occupies the 7th position, and Banco BIC/Carmim the 15th, among 17 teams.
ten fugitives, one Portuguese
The second stage of the Volta a Portugal Liberty Seguros was animated by a group of ten runners who fled 14 kilometers after leaving Oliveira de Azeméis.
Among the men who pedaled alone at the front of the race was only one Portuguese, the national long-distance champion, Joni Brandão (Efapel / Glassdrive).
The fugitives had more than eight minutes of advantage over the peloton, but with the approach to Viana do Castelo the difference was diminishing.
In the middle of the climb to Monte de Santa Luzia, where the finish line was installed, only Joni Brandão was able to resist isolated.
The national champion was eventually reached in the last 100 meters by the Bulgarian Danail Petrov (Caja Rural) but in the final rides, the two in front, were left out of the discussion of the stage because they followed wrongly by diverting the support vehicles.
It was Rui Sousa (Efapel / Glassdrive) who took advantage of that, who earned a much-desired triumph.
Algarvio Samuel Caldeira was the first dropout
The Algarve cyclist Samuel Caldeira (OFM-Quinta da Lixa) was the first dropout of the 75th Volta a Portugal, among the 153 cyclists who lined up at the start of Lisbon.
The Algarve sprinter abandoned the race, which takes place between 07 and 18 August, with suspicions of gastroenteritis, being assisted by the medical services of Volta a Portugal.
3rd Stage - Saturday, August 10
Trofa - Fafe
With the departure of Trofa, one of the youngest Portuguese municipalities, Volta will travel this Saturday between the Douro and Minho, reaching Fafe.
The departure for the 165,8 km of the third stage is scheduled for 13:05 pm and the arrival at the “living room” of the Minho region should take place around 17:20 pm.
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