″Drawers start to be few″
João Matias wants to keep the green jersey until the end.
João Matias may have had a space problem at home, when he scored twice in the fourth stage of the Volta a Portugal on a bicycle, but he no longer wants to give up the green jersey, won after a new tactical lesson from Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados.
Mortágua’s team left Scott McGill’s Wildlife Generation to work on the journey to the 10 fugitives of the journey, limiting themselves to putting Matias in place, at the right time, with the Portuguese “pistard” denying the North American victory again. , as happened two days ago, in Castelo Branco – this time, the third was the Spanish Andoni López de AbeTXuko.
The 31-year-old cyclist’s categorical victory, achieved in 03:55.11 hours, took him to the points classification, a happy headache for the Barcelona native, who will now have to “invent” also to accommodate the various copies of the jersey space green between the clothes of Dinis, the son who is born in September.
“The truth is even small, that the attempt of a house will start to be small, but it is arranged without even the father’s cellar”, he joked, probably like taking the Volta bet. Portugal ends on August 15th.
After the emotions of the Tower, the men in general, namely the yellow jersey Mauricio Moreira (Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor), today faced the 169.1 kilometers between Guarda and Viseu as a prelude to the rest day, while others looked at the fourth stage as an opportunity for redemption, as was the case with Joaquim Silva.
After a disastrous journey for the entire team in Serra da Estrela, the Efapel cyclist joined former yellow jersey Rafael Reis (Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor), and also Afonso Silva (Kelly-Simoldes-UDO), Álvaro Trueba (Tuna General-Tavira-Maria Nova Hotel), Bruno Silva (Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados), Joseba López (Caja Rural), Óscar Pelegrí (Burgos-BH), Peio Goikoetxea (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Robin Carpenter (Human Powered Health) to form the trail of the day, just at kilometer three.
Having crossed out of the national journey adventure, Aviludo-Louletano-Louletano Concelho tried to chase the fugitives, without success, opting to launch José Mendes in pursuit of the front group in the background, with the former two-time champion in the background (2016 and 2019) to reach them even before kilometer 60.
The 1 kilometer away, thought and thought but wide, was once thought that we had only one path of life, thought 10 kilometers away, thought 15 kilometers away.
Dissatisfied, Rafael Reis and Robin Carpenter still started, but ended up being absorbed, like Joquim Silva and Afonso Silva, three kilometers from the peloton at high speed in the final.
At that time, Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados already featured João Matias, who, after another impeccable work by António Barbio, described by the winner as his “guardian angel”, just had to “push”. “First, with a [vitória] was already satisfied. Now, with two, I think my face says it all. I’m super happy, super happy. This one, without a doubt, is for all my companions. Everyone saw it on television, everyone saw this arrival,” he said.
In another monotonous and lackluster day in a strangely dull and soulless Vuelta a Portugal, Mauricio Moreira reached the finish line integrated in the peloton, and will spend the first time a day of rest in yellow. “Spending the rest day in yellow has to be beautiful, it’s the first time it’s happened to me”, said the Uruguayan, who leads the general with 30 seconds ahead of his Portuguese colleague Frederico Figueiredo, second, and 31 seconds over Luís Fernandes (Popular-Paredes-Boavista Radio).
“Mauri” will face the toughest test of his yellow on Wednesday, in the fifth stage of the 83rd edition, which connects Mealhada to the Vila Nova Observatory, in Miranda do Corvo, an unprecedented climb of 10 kilometers, classified as first-rate.