Miguel Ángel López has the opportunity of a lifetime to get back on the podium of one of the three most important cycling races in the world, the Giro d’Italiawhich starts next Friday, in Budapest (Hungary).
‘Supermán’ López was third in the 2018 competition, when he ran the test for the first time, in which he was surpassed by Chris Froome, the champion, and Tom Dumoulin, who was second.
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Then he was on two more occasions, in 2019 he was seventh and the following year he retired due to a fall in the first stage.
He arrives at the Giro with a lot of confidence, after the stage victory in the Tour of the Alps, in search of confirming his skills as an excellent climber, because, as always, the race is full of mountains and he will only have 26 kilometers to the clock, very little, really.
The rider from Boyacá has won stages in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, but in the Giro it is a pending task that he and the Kazakh squad have.
The plans
Stefano Zanini is one of the men who have managed him in the Astana team. With him, the boyacense has achieved the best results of him. The technician talks about what will be a new experience with the 28-year-old cyclist.
With what feeling does López arrive at the Giro?
It’s good that the team recently won a stage in the Tour of the Alps. Good for him too because he arrives at the Giro with more calm. For the group, it is clear that a victory was missing after two months with many health problems in the runners.
Is that the reason why the team has won little this season?
Sure. We’re a bit unlucky with injuries to Alexey Lutsenko, who was in good form and hasn’t responded. I hope all this stops, that the team is lucky for the rest.
“We want to be on the podium with López. We consider that to be very feasible.”
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What goals do you have in Italy?
I hope that Miguel goes well, don’t worry, thinking about making a good general classification. We want to be on the podium with López. We believe that this is very feasible, according to what we have planned during the year. Now, on the road everything is different.
Are they clear about the leader ladder?
López will be the leader of the squad in the Giro. He will have a Vincenzo Nibali, who has a lot of experience at his side, and the idea is that he can give important advice to him, so that everything we have planned comes out.
Is it a tour tailored to the Colombian?
It’s good for him. Of course, every day he looks at what can be done. You have to take advantage of the opportunities to go climbing in the general.
What is the reason for thinking that they can achieve the objectives?
The goal is to qualify, but we understand that in such a long race you have to go day by day. The mountain, as is known, is good for him and, as always, the Giro is characterized by being a competition with many ascents and that is key for climbers like Miguel Ángel López.
run old fashioned
López, this year, has not been able to win races, has he raced the old way, only thinking about preparing for the Giro?
That’s how we planned it. In these months we did it like this. The important thing is to arrive at the Giro in good shape, ready to attack the general classification and looking for an opportunity. Winning stages and going for the general are the objectives, hopefully this can happen.
What positive aspect do you see in López, after his return to Astana?
He is more mature, more focused on what he wants. Every year he matures much more, he has more confidence, more personality, better condition and that is magnificent to face this Giro. It is seen that he is more of a leader, he feels like a champion and that is what it takes to reach the top.
There are few kilometers against the clock this time and that favors him…
Miguel has improved in those stages and this year he has shown it, because we have worked on it. That there are few kilometers on the clock is important for him, we have drawn up a plan for those days and we see that he is fine, without problems.
What is the key stage of the Giro?
They are several. In the last week it will be a very demanding Giro and everything will be seen there. There are two stages that will be key, the one that leaves Saló and arrives in Aprica, is very hard, with the Mortirolo in between. The other is the one that leaves Belluno and will have a finish line in Elluno.
But there is a mountain from the first week…
Yes, that confirms what I say, that you have to go day by day and that you don’t have to neglect yourself. The clear thing is that this end of the competition is tremendously demanding and one does not dare to say which is the queen day, but there are several.
Is it an open turn?
It’s true, I see it that way too. It will be a Giro like that and that’s good. We are going to look to see what is done, how the competition is proposed, because there is no clear dominator.
But is the purpose of getting the podium more complicated?
There are many runners who can win, be the protagonist and there is no team that carries the weight. That issue does not concern us, because what one must do is work to meet the goals. Nothing is easy in cycling and less so in the Giro.
“The fact that Pogacar and Roglic aren’t there doesn’t mean that the Giro is better than the Tour, on the contrary, it will make it more complicated.”
Is that positive, that there are many candidates?
Many people will fight for the title, you have to run with your head, also thinking what the others will do. That is done in the race and according to that a strategy will be proposed. It is more difficult because there are many favourites, there is no team that is stronger.
Does the absence of Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic take away from the quality of the race?
I don’t think so, on the contrary, I see that it will be a very difficult Giro, as there is no solid favourite. The fact that Pogacar and Roglic are not here does not mean that the Giro is better than the Tour, on the contrary, it will make it more complicated, more fought and we hope that Miguel will be with the best.
What comes for López after the Giro?
At the moment I think we’re thinking about the Giro, concentrating on doing the best we can, it’ll be a great race and then we’ll watch. I think it’s better this way, we have a clear concentration on what we will do, after the Giro we will look.
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Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of THE TIME
@lisandroabel
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