Our Spanish young gun climbs to his best stage result of the year among impressive company
Yesterday Hector said the finish of today could really suit him and he was confident he could do a good result. 24 hours after a strong 7th place on Stage 1, he went and got that good result… a very, very good result. A slightly more relaxing start to proceedings on the 142km stage from Bischofshofen to St. Johann Alpendorf, the guys stuck together and held position at the front ensuring Hector and Lennard Kamna were kept out of trouble.
When the chain got tight and road started to kick up in the final kilometres, Ryan Gibbons and local man Patrick Konrad used their experience to guide both Lennard and Hector into the final bend and onto the 400 meter wall to the finish. Hector showed us what he’s capable of on these sorts of gradients and crossed the line in 3rd, just behind stage winner Del Toro of UAE Emirates XRG. He now sits in 3rd in the young rider classification and 6th overall with Lennard in 9th.
Words from Alvarez..
The team trusted me after yesterday's result so we entered the last climb in a great position with Ryan and Patrick. I knew it was a final that looked good for me on paper and I felt really good but I never expected a result like this. With around 150 meters to go I saw a gap and I went and yeah, getting third is just super, super nice especially after the crashes I've had this season so now I feel like I'm finally coming back.
