Antigua Guatemala bid farewell yesterday to the multicolored caravan, which in its fourth stage headed towards Coatepeque, on a route of 196 kilometers, the second longest of the 62nd edition of the Vuelta a
our country.
In front of the cobbled streets, colorful kites, the emblematic Arch on one side and the imposing Agua volcano on the other, the cyclists mounted their steel horses and rode through the main streets of Santiago de los Caballeros, after passing by the Captaincy General, the Municipal Palace and the Cathedral.
Once on the road (RN-14), the official flag was raised and the first attacks began. Although the first breakaway was led by 9 riders, it soon fell apart and there were 3 at the front, who began to take the points of the flying goals: the Chilean Pablo Alarcón, the Costa Rican Sebastián Brenes and the national Henry Sam.
However, they ran out of gas and for the last mountainous point the Mexican Heiner Rodrigo Parra and the chapín Esdras Morales passed ahead, who were accredited the main units of the second category.
Even so, the peloton, with the work of the Ecuadorian National Team and the Movistar-Best PC together, managed to catch up with them and close the pack in the City of Gardenias, to keep Nixon Rosero at the head of the general classification.
Sergio Chumil made use of his knowledge of the terrain and after a tight lap, with 100 meters to go, he showed his caste and raised his arms in victory, after the first round became a nightmare for the Hino-One-La Red-Suzuki.
“Unfortunately we fell asleep on the first day, because we let that escape go; however, we have our teammate Edgar Torres there, for whom we will continue to fight this race,” Chumil said.
“I’m happy and grateful to win my first stage of a Vuelta a Guatemala. I dedicate it to all the fans and the members of the team. I hope that this will open the doors to achieve more triumphs,” emphasized the athlete, who trained in Spain.
Today the ascent begins with the 91.5-kilometer route, from Catarina to San Rafael Pie de la Cuesta, all in San Marcos.
