Cycling
“It didn’t go at all as we hoped,” admits Guillaume Boivin
Several falls contributed to divide the peloton and to complicate the task of the leaders, Tuesday, during the second stage of the Tour of Catalonia. Canadian Michael Woods, Guillaume Boivin’s teammate at Israel-Premier Tech, was not spared and lost precious seconds in the overall standings.
Three riders quickly got away on Tuesday and forged a lead of more than 5 minutes over the peloton. The Norwegian Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (DSM), as well as the Spaniards Joan Bou (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Adrià Moreno (Burogs-BH), were caught 30 kilometers from the finish.
The members of Israel-Premier Tech were almost all positioned in front when a fall separated the peloton, which trapped their leader Michael Woods. An incident with a side wind that took them by surprise and forced them to change strategy.
“Everyone was in front, but Mike [Woods] was caught behind and we did not know it, said Guillaume Boivin. We pressed the panic button a bit. We all went down to try to bring him back, but we only managed to limit the damage. We thought we were in a good position, when we are closer to disaster. »
The victory was decided in a bunch sprint after the 202 kilometer race. Australian Kaden Groves of the Bike Exchange-Jayco team took advantage of the support of his teammate and compatriot Michael Matthews to make a comeback in the last meters. Groves finally narrowly edged out the German Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious). This is a first World Tour triumph for Kaden Groves, who offers a second victory to his formation after that of Matthews, the day before.
South African Daryl Impey was the only representative of Israel-Premier Tech to finish in the leading group. Woods (52and), Boivin (104and) and two other team members finished in the second group, 33 seconds later.
“It’s a tough day again. It’s a shame and we are disappointed with the turn of the finale. It didn’t go at all as we had hoped,” said Boivin.
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg, 14and of the day, was in his second breakaway in a row at the Tour of Catalonia. He took advantage of the bonuses to grab the leader’s jersey until then owned by Michael Matthews, who follows him closely in the general classification with only a second behind.
For his part, Michael Woods is now 46and, 44 seconds off the lead. Boivin is 105and (+9 minutes 40 seconds).
The third stage will take place on Wednesday and will feature significant climbs. Cyclists will cover 161 kilometers between Perpignan and La Molina.
“With the mountains, it will perhaps be settled, but it is far from ideal. We hope that Mike will have more freedom in the final and that he will be able to chase the stage victory,” concluded Guillaume Boivin.
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Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.