López wins Vuelta a San Juan Internacional overall

Miguel Ángel López (Medellín-EPM) sealed final overall victory at the Vuelta a San Juan as Sam Welsford (DSM) won stage 7 in a bunch sprint ahead of Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel Premier Tech).

There was late drama as world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) escaped on the final lap of the urban circuit in the company of Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), sowing a considerable degree of panic in the peloton behind.

Evenepoel ignited the move with 14.5km remaining, building a maximum lead just shy of half a minute and forcing a desperate chase behind. After suffering a setback atop the Alto Colorado on Sunday, this was a show of defiance from Evenepoel, and the presence of a willing accomplice like Simmons gave him reason to believe, but the duo was eventually reeled in just under 3km from home.

Although the Vuelta a San Juan is a ProSeries event, a WorldTour-calibre cadre of sprinters made the journey to Argentina. The race began with wins from the men who topped the billing, namely Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jakobsen, but the week ends with the emergence of a new name.

After a glittering track career, Welsford only switched full-time to the road last season, showing sustained flashes of his potential. His two wins in Argentina offered a further confirmation of his ability. The 27-year-old came off Nizzolo’s wheel in the closing metres here, producing a towering turn of speed to claim the win.

Jakobsen came through for second place on the stage, though the European champion’s sprint was clearly impeded when he was struck by the phone of a spectator who had leaned across the barriers. The impact knocked Jakobsen’s glasses off and saw him sit up to avoid crashing.

“The last lap was super tough, with the attacks from Simmons and Remco, and that made it very tough for the sprinters, but we stayed calm and kept in a good position for the sprint,” said Welsford. “The lead-out has been really good this week. We’ve got so much work done with these boys over the winter, so I can’t thank them enough.”

López, meanwhile, finished safely in the peloton to seal an overall victory he had forged by soloing clear on the Alto Colorado on stage 5. Despite Evenepoel’s cameo, the Colombian secured his triumph on Sunday evening, 30 seconds ahead of Filippo Ganna (Ineos) and 44 up on Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe).

“There was tension in the finale like always, but I have to thank my team for controlling thing for me,” López said. “It’s very gratifying for me and the team after all the work we’ve put in. It’s something I didn’t imagine, because I had a bad end to last year and I didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for this race.”

It remains to be seen, however, whether López’s victory in Argentina will do anything for his prospects of returning to the World Tour. The 28-year-old signed for Continental squad Medellín-EPM following his dismissal from Astana last month due to his links to Dr. Marcos Maynar, currently at the centre of an anti-doping inquiry in Spain.

How it unfolded

The final stage of the Vuelta a San Juan also served as a farewell to Argentina’s greatest road rider, Max Richeze, who took his final bow as a professional on Sunday evening. The 39-year-old had hoped to continue into 2023 in the service of Mark Cavendish, but the trail went cold once the Manxman entered talks with Astana in December. Cycling, as Richeze already knew, is a harsh business.

That disappointment was tempered, however, by the realisation that racing in San Juan at the head of his national team would be a fitting way to exit the stage. “I chose not to force destiny and to finish in my country,” he told Cyclingnews earlier in the week. Richeze came close to pulling off a most romantic victory in Villicum on stage 3, only to be pipped to the line by Quinn Simmons. Professional cycling, to paraphrase Charly Wegelius, is no fairytale, but Richeze had the consolation of being feted before ahead of Sunday’s finale.

Led by Richeze’s old friend Fernando Gaviria, the peloton formed a guard of honour as he made his way to the start line, while he was serenaded enthusiastically by the home crowds with chants of ‘Olé, olé, olé, Maxi, Maxi’ as they drummed against the advertising hoardings. Not quite the Obelisco in Buenos Aires after a World Cup final, but a spirited send-off all the same.

When the stage began, the first of seven tours of the San Juan ring road doubled as a lap of honour for Richeze, who soft-pedalled ahead of the bunch to generous applause from the roadside, completing his circuit with an Argentinian flag in his hand. Once the albiceleste flag was put to one side, the pace ratcheted up several notches and the race began in earnest.

Jens Reynders (Israel Premier Tech), Mathias Vacek (Trek-Segafredo), Carlos Salguiero (APHotels and Resorts – Tavira) and Laureano Rosas (Gremios) were the day’s first attackers, and they quickly established a lead of a minute over the peloton. Reynders dropped back from the move shortly after claiming the first intermediate sprint, but his three erstwhile companions put up firm resistance even as Movistar, Bora-Hansgrohe and Soudal-QuickStep controlled the peloton behind.

The move would be swept up just before they took the bell for the final lap. The anticipated bunch sprint eventually materialised, but only after Evenepoel had added his own dash of the unexpected.

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