The animated Andalusian climber successfully defended his race lead all the way to the finish in Levico Terme, after five days of racing.
How it happened
On Stage 3, Juanpe attacked through the icy rain to take a beautiful solo win 38 seconds ahead of his main GC rivals. A solid margin, but by no means comfortable with two more days in the mountains left to race. The next day, proudly wearing the green jersey as race leader, Juanpe stepped up and doggedly defended his lead. With so many riders dangerously close in the overall standings, he had no choice but to follow every move he could, right to the end of the stage.
The final stage, a loop around Levico Terme, presented two more mountains standing in the way of Juanpe and his first stage-race victory. Fortunately, it wasn’t just Juanpe who stepped up to the challenge, but also his teammates who played a vital role in controlling the peloton throughout the day. When the time came for Juanpe to take matters into his own hands, he did, looking as composed and experienced as his nickname ‘El Patrón’ suggests.
As the group of climbers fought for the stage win, Juanpe crossed the line a few meters behind punching the air with elation to celebrate the first overall race victory of his career.
The winner’s words
“I feel super happy because I worked really hard in Tenerife with the team, and being with all my teammates there made me really motivated. Last year I had some hard months after the crash, but now I’m really good, especially in the downhill. I really surprised myself, it was super nice for me.
“Today the team did a good job one by one, the young ones – Nils and Liam – were great from the start, and then Fabio and Dario were really important for me, keeping me calm and giving me confidence. Then, if I said Amanuel and Carlos did their job 100%, that wouldn’t be enough praise. They did a f***ing nice job. This victory is for the whole team.
“The green jersey is extra special because it is the color of Real Betis, my team.”
The day in photos
