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The kindhearted João Rodrigues, the last winner of the Volta a Portugal, says that “Amaro Veloso” is the favorite to succeed him.
“Amaro Veloso” is João Rodrigues’ favorite to win the special edition of the Volta a Portugal, with the Algarve cyclist “devaluing” the altruistic gesture of giving up his title so that the yellow one remains in W52-FC Porto.
Three days after dazzling on the way to the Tower, with a show of force, the winner of the Volta a Portugal last year returned, in an interview with the Lusa agency, to that moment in which he abdicated his scepter to protect the Amaro Antunes yellow, a gesture that deserved praise from colleagues, rivals and fans of this sport.
“We, in the Senhora da Graça stage, had a strategy outlined, which was that attack with Amaro, because everyone was looking at me. If I moved, they [outros candidatos] They chased me and then the race was going to be different. We had Amaro in excellent condition, we knew we could win like this and things went perfectly, ”he began detailing.
Later, in the Tower stage, the “dragons had” some mishaps, with the fall of Ricardo Mestre, who was a little mistreated and did not know how to be as useful as he usually is in these decisive stages “.
“And then, with the team a little weak, of course I had to go to work. Last year I won the Tour, because I had a super team by my side, this year it made no sense not to help my teammates,” he defended the cyclist de Faz Fato, without wanting to recognize any exceptionality in his act.
João Rodrigues assumed Lusa that, after last year’s victory, he arrived with the ambition to “bend”, that his legs are even “here” and that he could be in the discussion of the special edition, because he is “very well physically” – as everyone could see along the almost two dozen kilometers in which he pulled the group of candidates, responding to any attack, while climbing the Tower.
“But I wouldn’t feel good if I didn’t help you [a Amaro Antunes], because here in the team our mentality is to win, whether with A, B or C. We want to win for the good of the team. When [Rui] Vinhas won, the following year Raúl won [Alarcón]. Before Vinhas won, Gustavo was the leader. He has changed shirts almost from year to year, but always within the team, “he said.
Pragmatic, the number 1 dorsal highlighted that there are no equal years and that we must accept that this was not his, denying any kind of frustration for not having individually defended his title.
“I feel really good. In my initial phase as a cyclist I was also a team worker and learned a lot from them. Last year I had that great opportunity that I managed to take advantage of and I was very grateful to them. to have many opportunities. This year I am helping my colleague, next year he may be helping again or being a leader, I don’t know. The future is uncertain, what matters is winning, “said the 25-year-old.
And on the eve of their arrival in Lisbon, W52-FC Porto is on track to do so, with Antunes at the helm and Gustavo Veloso, winner of the prologue and one of the greatest specialists in the fight against the clock, in third place in the general. 01.13 minutes of the yellow jersey.
“For me, the favorite is Amaro Veloso. For me, this is the favorite,” he laughed, laughing, when asked which of his teammates would be better to reach the yellow.
“If we analyze it well, it is clear that the time trial favors Gustavo. But Gustavo is also a minute behind for Amaro. One minute in 17 kilometers is not impossible to remove, but it is difficult. Amaro is also in excellent shape, so the most important thing is that they manage to do an excellent time trial, which is going well up to Lisbon, without crashes and setbacks. So, the decision … whoever is stronger wins “, summed up the sixth-placed individual overall.
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