The European Champion came second on the last day of the race.
The final stage of the Vuelta a San Juan saw former Wolfpack member Maximiliano Richeze say goodbye to cycling after 18 years in the pro ranks, four of which he got to spend with our team, winning six races. After a well-deserved guard of honor for “El Atomico”, the race kicked off with a breakaway that had to fight hard to put one minute into a peloton whose main goal Sunday afternoon was to see this come down to a mass gallop.
The bunch’s missing wasn’t a straight forward one, as they had to really work for it, especially in the final 15 kilometers, when Remco Evenepoel and Quinn Simmons took off. The World Champion and his US companion snapped the elastic and carved out a 25-second gap which allowed them to stay in the lead until two kilometers to go, when they were swallowed by the chasing group.
It came as no surprise that the bunch sprint was again a chaotic one, on the wide boulevard in San Juan, but the recklessness of some of the spectators made it even more dangerous. Fabio Jakobsen launched on the right side of the road close to the barriers, only for a spectator holding out his phone to hit him in the face and almost knock him off his bike. Luckily, Fabio managed to stay upright and concluded just behind Sam Welsford (DMS) in second place.
“Vuelta a San Juan was for the riders here a good race to start the season and we leave not just with a stage win, but also with the confidence given by how our guys rode. They showed here that they are ready for the next races. Maybe we could have done more, but the level was very high this week, so overall we can be pretty content with how things went for us”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Davide Bramati.
Photo credit: ©Maximiliano Blanco / Getty Images
