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The cyclist Joni Brandão was sanctioned in 20 seconds in the individual general, for irregular supply in the fourth stage, which he won, confirmed this Friday the sports director of Efapel, recognizing that the Volta a Portugal is lost.
“There is not much to say. There has been an irregular supply in the last 10 kilometers [da etapa da Torre]. We knew we could be penalized, but my athletes had been running 50 kilometers without water. It was an instinct ”, admitted Rubén Pereira.
The commissars’ college had already sanctioned António Carvalho on Thursday night, for the same irregularity, and this Friday morning, after reviewing the television images, decided to apply the same sanction, provided for in the regulations, to the winner at the top of the competition. Tower.
Thus, Brandão falls from fourth to fifth place in the individual overall, in exchange for João Benta (Rádio Popular-Boavista), and sees his distance increase to the yellow jersey Amaro Antunes (W52-FC Porto) to 1.37 minutes.
“We missed the Tour in Senhora da Graça, not for these 20 seconds”, defended the sports director of Efapel, in statements to journalists at Oliveira do Hospital, the starting point of the fifth stage, a 176.3 km route that It ends in Águeda. .
Rubén Pereira took the blame for penalizing his cyclists, highlighting that he thought about the well-being of Brandão and Carvalho.
“From what I can see, everything was in their favor, even though they were injured,” he concluded.
The special edition of Volta a Portugal, which runs until Monday, is directed by Amaro Antunes, who has a 13-second lead over Frederico Figueiredo (Tuna General-Tavira-Maria Nova Hotel).
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