Tinkoff’s Polish marquee rider at the Tour de San Luis, put a good performance in stage four and moved to the GC top ten, 1:36 behind the leader. The South American riders dominated the first mountain stage of the race.
It was the first summit finish for the Argentinian tour and the big day for the climbers with a hard climb to Cerro del Amago. The summit at 1,710 metres put a strain on the riders and gave the South American climbers the chance to shine, while Tinkoff’s squad worked hard to protect Rafal Majka.
“Considering that, apart from the scorching heat, we find in the top spots most of the South American climbers, who were riding at home”, commented sport director Patxi Vila, “and that it was the first climb tackled by Majka after the World Championships, I think we can be satisfied by his performance today. Let’s not forget he finished together with Nairo Quintana, another climber who will be challenging the Grand Tours this year”.
“In the end, what happened is what I expected, we tackled the climb calmly knowing it was long, and Rafal was very good in managing his own race. There’s just some regret for those 40 seconds he lost in yesterday’s stage because he could be in a better position, a little further ahead, in the general classification”, concluded Vila.
“I am very happy with my performance today,” commented Rafal Majka on the stage, “we can see my shape is building up. Yesterday we lost some time because of my flat tire but today I was feeling good and I would like to thank the entire squad for their effort to position me at the front. They did a great job and even Peter Sagan joined in to help the final kilometers before the climb. My condition is improving, so we’ll see what happens on Saturday’s stage six.”
Tomorrow’s stage, the fifth of the race, is 168.7 kilometers long and will take the riders from Renca to Juana Koslay. It is a stage more suited to sprinters with a slightly uphill finish which should not worry the faster riders in the team.
“Tomorrow’s stage will be an undulating one, therefore we’ll be staying next to Peter Sagan, also because it will be the fifth day of the race and legs will start feeling the heatwave. Majka will try instead to recover some energy ahead of Saturday’s stage with the second summit finish at Filo Sierras Comechingones”, concluded Vila.
