Sunday, while pogacar he was performing one of his many rides solitary and victorious, in Spain Debora Silvestri he returned to conquer a victory that he had been chasing all seasonIt was certainly not a World Cup or a European Championship, but it can be said that the GP Ciudad de Eibar It had a special flavour, for her as well as for her team. Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi and not only because it was the home race for the Basque team.
A truly special day, to be told in great detail but which in truth had begun even earlier, on the eve of the race, with the pre-race meeting: «We discussed the race tactics and we all agreed to run for Ana Santesteban. Because it was her last race. Ana is a pillar of this team, she's been for years, achieving many outstanding results, but this was her last, and we wanted her to win. We agreed to take the race head on, do it ourselves, make it tough, knowing we were one of the strongest teams and, above all, in excellent shape at the moment."
In the morning, when you gathered at the hotel, what was the atmosphere like?
Obviously we were excited, convinced that we could do well. It was immediately a special day, exciting, different from the others because we all knew it was Ana's last day in the group.There was a mix of emotions in the team, between the desire to do well but also a bit of sadness because he was an important figure.
What kind of climate did you find?
The weather itself was very cold, unexpectedly, because it rained and made the roads slippery. So much so that there was a stretch of about fifteen kilometers where they neutralized the race and in fact we were all freezing.But what struck me most were the people in the streets, the cheering was so warm, everyone had come there to support us, Ana first and foremost, but also all of us. Her entire family and friends were there. It was very emotional, you could feel this warmth.
How has the race evolved since the start?
There were several attacks, a breakaway of 5 athletes went away and the group was controlled by us and by the Human Powered HealthThen there was this section that was neutralized because there was a descent with dirty asphalt and it was raining, the organization decided to stop us to avoid any safety risks. We waited for the breakaway to regain the two and a half minutes it had accumulated and then we set off again. On the coast we started to make a good pace uphill. We caught up with the breakaway and when we got to the last climb with the whole team, whom I have to thank, we got in front to set the pace.
Did you take the initiative there?
We put into practice what we had said by projecting ourselves and the Ostolaza, staying with a small group. I tried to take the shot first, and when, let's say, they found me below, 500 meters from the top, she took off. Only she fell downhill, like me too, but she had problems with her bike, so she had to wait for the bike change, while I managed to get back on the other two girls and I managed to drop her again on the downhill. Thomson it came back to me 1 kilometer from the finish and From there I tried to bring the race home, to thank the team for all the work done during the raceSo I tried to anticipate her so as not to risk being beaten in the sprint.
This is your second career victory. How did you feel about it?
I felt a sense of relief, because it hadn't been an easy season until these last two months, But it was wonderful to share this success with the team, considering how we managed the race and the critical moments we experienced in the last 5 kilometers with our crashes. When it was Usoa's (Ostolaza, ed.) turn, I thought, "We need to get the race back on our side." I tried to give my best to pay homage to the fans for all their support, despite the adverse weather.
You already have a contract for next year. But this was your first season as a Professional. Did you notice this jump in category?
Not entirely, because in the end we also had a great calendar last year, so more or less the races we did were the same or very similar. Now I hope to continue with the trend I have had in these last two months and to definitely start again better next year.Ana will be sorely missed as a role model, so it'll be up to us to fill the void, also involving the new arrivals who will surely arrive. But I can assure you that we'll try to fight hard.
