Rigoberto Urán may have cracked more than a few jokes in the EF Education-EasyPost press conference before O Gran Camiño, but it was also crystal clear that both he and teammate Richard Carapaz are taking their next racing challenge, which starts Thursday in A Coruña, very seriously indeed.
Both Carapaz and Urán were in the thick of the action in the recently completed Tour Colombia, finishing second and fourth overall, with Carapaz’ solo victory on the Queen Stage at the Alto del Vino summit finish arguably one of the most memorable of his career to date.
The duo recognised however, that O Gran Camiño would raise the bar considerably, with three stages on twisting narrow roads – “up and down all day, this is Galicia” as Urán succinctly put it – and very possibly in much tougher weather conditions.
That’s not even mentioning the much deeper field, they will also cross swords with other top rivals of the calibre of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), along with key Tour Colombia rival, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers)
Anticipating what could be a very wet and wild four days in Galicia, Urán jokingly told a small group of reporters, including Cyclingnews, with a grin “I don’t like the rain and cold, I like the wind, but only on the beach when it’s really hot and it can cool you down.
“Seriously though, of course, it’s tricky, coming across from Colombia where the weather’s very different, but we do know that the first few days of the season are always like this. We’re ready for it.
“There are lots of top riders here, and it’s not like it used to be, the big names want to win right from the start of the season. That makes it more complicated.
“But we’ve got a very powerful team, not just me and Richard but Neilson [Powless], for example, and I’m enjoying every race I do, because” – having announced his retirement this season after the Tour Colombia – “these are the last races of my career.”
“I want to do as well as possible, all the races are important, and I hope to help the team out as much as I can.”
It was a sign of how good morale was collectively in the EF Education-EasyPost camp that their press conference had more than a few lighter moments, such as when Urán was asked whether he thought he could win outright, he replied, “Oh, but that guy’s riding, isn’t he – what’s his name, Vingegaard?”
As for whether O Gran Camiño would be his last race in Spain, he sparked laughter again by jokingly with a good-humoured grin,…
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