15th February 2019 – Pictures:
Catalan allrounder from Movistar Team beats all GC contenders with powerful sprint after toughest stage of the week in France; claims third victory for Telefónica-backed squad in 2019.
Spaniard Edu Prades has got off to one of the best possible starts to his relationship with the Movistar Team. The Alcanar native from Tarragona in southern Catalonia, who made his official debut in Blue colours at the Tour Down Under, only had to wait to his second 2019 race to raise his arms victorious on stage two of the Tour de la Provence (UCI 2.1), the most demanding route in the French event with a tough finish up Les Crêtes, near the Côte d’Azur, before the last straight in La Ciotat (195km).
Prades launched a courageous, powerful sprint from the last place of a 10-man group including big names such as Tony Gallopin (ALM, 2nd), Gorka Izagirre (AST, 3rd), Thibaut Pinot and David Gaudu (GFC), an attack formed into the final slopes with 15km left. Having suffered to join that group, Edu saved all of his energies for one only attack: the final sprint, where he claimed his 11th pro success.
The Catalan allrounder, a debutant in WorldTour squads at nearly 30 years old, is having a dream start to his Movistar Team adventure after resounding 2018 success in the Tour of Turkey (WorldTour) and the Tour of Norway. His win marks the 3rd victory for the Movistar Team in 2019, following Winner Anacona’s dual success in the Vuelta a San Juan.
REACTION / Edu Prades:
“It’s a dream for me. Changing teams, reaching the WorldTour and achieving a victory so early in the season with your new squad is amazing. It gives me confidence, and it helps the whole team – I feel like I’m paying them back for the effort they took to bring me here and put that confidence on my shoulders. It was a difficult sprint, but I knew I was a fast guy compared to the others, even if some rivals like Gorka Izagirre could make things hard for me. I tried to wait to the very last possible moment, launch my sprint from behind, and fortunately, it all turned out well. I want to savour this victory, it’s not easy at all to claim a win and less so in the early season. Also, races here in France are always like a classic, people doesn’t think about tomorrow when they attack, so it’s more fierce. My next goals? For the time being, I just want to enjoy this and go day-by-day. We’re close to the top contenders, yet we must take things easier and not get too obsessed about the GC – let’s see how far I can reach.”
