Marcel Camprubí confirms his form by winning the final overall of the Vuelta a Toledo Imperial
I Vuelta Ciclista Toledo Imperial
Stage 3: Escalona – Escalona (153 km)
Barcelona’s Marcel Camprubí won his first overall classification as an U23 rider this Sunday after a hard-fought final stage of the Vuelta a Toledo Imperial in which, together with his teammate Andrea Montoli and three other riders (Pau Llaneras, Arabay; Sergio Arias, Globalia; Juan Pedro Lozano, Valverde Team), they led a long offensive movement. Camprubí won the overall and Montoli finished second. An unforgettable Sunday.
The last fraction of the round of Toledo recovered the passage through the Puerto del Piélago and all the subsequent broken terrain full of steep slopes and very exposed to the rigours of the heat, another day’s travel companion of the peloton. However, it was before the climb to the iconic and busy pass, the great pass of the cyclists of Talavera de la Reina and all its surroundings, where things happened.
The stage had already got off to a lively start, with many breakaway attempts, none of which managed to crystallise. A pile-up, around kilometre 47, was a turning point in this dynamic and shortly afterwards the breakaway of the day began to take shape, in which first Andrea Montoli and then Marcel Camprubí, third and second in the general classification, managed to get in. At kilometre 65, in the middle of the ascent to El Piélago, they had two minutes.
The breakaway would lose a member, but still maintained more than a minute over the chasing group, which in turn was moving. A group of nine riders stood out before reaching the Nombela pass. The peloton of leader Pol Hervás was further behind. The general classification, which was feasible, was finally decided. The victory in the final stage went to Pau Llaneras.
“A huge joy, it’s always nice to win”, admits Camprubí, who four months ago had to stop because of an injury that took place during the Gran Premio Primavera de Ontur. Marcel comes from being second in the recent Vuelta a Madrid. “We knew that the stage could be like this if we played our cards right in El Piélago. Rafa, the director, gave us a detailed description of the area. It’s not an easy terrain for chases. It’s a victory for the whole team, who have worked brilliantly all three days”. The U23 structure of the Contador Foundation leaves the reborn Toledo race as the best team in the overall team standings and with the overall among the U23 riders (the race has an U25 category) also in Camprubí’s bag.
