The director of the Tour of Portugal considered that the setting could not be better on the eve of the rest day of the 84th edition, making “a very positive balance” of the first ‘half’ of the race.
“[Faço] a very positive balance. The performance of the runners, the development of the competition itself, which met our best expectations. We had a team that clearly dominated this easiest phase of the Tour, before obviously entering these two mountain stages, very complicated stages”, he highlighted.
Joaquim Gomes was referring to Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua, who won three of the four sprint stages, with Leangel Linarez and João Matias, both riders also in yellow.
“As for the post-rest day and the decisive phase of the Tour, the scenario could not be better. We do not have a clearly dominant team. Congratulations to the Glassdrive team, which today, as a result of a huge effort, managed to take the lead, but which leaves open the possibility that the competition can fight for victory until the end of the race”, he estimated.
The Russian Artem Nych has shone today with the yellow, after finishing second in the sixth stage, won by the Spanish Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and leads the general with 27 seconds ahead of the Spanish Delio Fernández (AP Hotels & Resorts -Tavira- Farense) and 30 over the Swiss Colin Stüssi (Voralberg)
“From now on we will always have stages with a high level of difficulty, Larouco, Fafe, especially Senhora da Graça, who we can say shares the title of ‘queen’ stage with the Torre stage, and a time trial that was perhaps one of the biggest challenges of my life”, he enumerated.
The final time trial, which acquired a “time trial character” by finishing in Santa Luzia, the highest point in Viana do Castelo, “will contribute to the competitiveness of the Tour,” Gomes defended.
“I hope, indeed, around eight in the morning on August 20, to be able to close this 84th edition of the Volta a Portugal with great success”, said the one who has been the director of the race for two decades.
The 84th Tour of Portugal has its rest day on Wednesday, returning to the road on Thursday, for the demanding 162.6-kilometre route between Torre de Moncorvo and Alto do Larouco (Montalegre), where the finish line coincides with one of the two first mountain counts of the seventh stage.
Source: TSF
