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EFE · Road Competition · 08/30/2020
Colombian Daniel Felipe Martnez (EF Education First) had a double scare in the second stage of the Tour de France, a mechanical failure that unhooked him from the squad of favorites and one each that set him apart again.
The winner of the recent Dauphin Critrium, who already knew what it was like to win in Nice, something he achieved in Paris-Nice last year, did not have an easy day.
The EF cyclist, who arrives at the Tour de France For the first time with the intention of helping his compatriot Rigoberto Urn, who has options to make a good general, he had to work all day to avoid wasting too much time.
In the end, he crossed the finish line located on the Paseo de los Ingleses in the city of the Côte d’Azur in a 3 and a half minute group of favorites.
The rest of the Colombians finished the stage in a good place, in which they did not stand out in a particular way.
Egan Bernal, who defends the title won last year, was well supported by his Ineos teammates and did not have too many complications.
“I am happy to be back in this race. Today I really enjoyed the route. It was a stage of the Tour proper and I had a very good feeling. We were in control all day with the teammates and then at the end, Kwiatowski and Richard Carapaz They did a great job, “he said.
“We saved the legs as much as we could. It’s the Tour, we have to go day by day and try to save energy for the last part of the Tour,” he said.
After two stages, the 23-year-old is now eighth overall, just 17 seconds behind the leader, Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, who won the stage and donned the yellow jersey.
The first Colombian in the general standings is Sergio Higuita, another debutant of the EF team, who occupies the fourth position, two places ahead of Esteban Chaves, from Mitchelton.
He also crossed the finish line with the best Nairo Quintana, who assures that he is in a good moment to step on the podium of the Champs Elysées for the fourth time, to which he has climbed all the steps except the first one.
The leader of the French formation Arkea suffered one every day before, but did not seem to resent it in a particular way today, in which he was well supported by his teammates.
Something similar happened to Miguel ngel Lpez, who a day before had starred in the most spectacular fall of a day marked by incidents caused by rain.
The director of his team, Astana, Dmitriy Fofonov, assured that the main objective of the day was to protect `Supermn López to see if he recovered well from the injuries suffered the day before.
“This stage makes us optimistic, the riders have been in good shape, so we are looking forward to the next few days to be able to do something,” said the director.
Luis Miguel Pascual
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