Colombian Sergio Higuita (Bora) won the Vuelta a Catalunya this Sunday after the seventh and final stage with start and finish in Barcelona, in which the Italian Andrea Bagioli (Quick-Step) won the sprint.
The Colombian champion scored the victory ahead of Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (Ineos), who finished in the second drawer of the podium, and Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE), who was third.
The Colombian succeeded British Adam Yates in the winners, scoring his first victory in a World Tour stage lap. Higuita, who had worn the leader's jersey the day before after a long 120km getaway with Carapaz, endured in this last stage, in which he finished ninth ahead of the Ecuadorian to end up taking the final victory.
“I was tired after yesterday's stage, I knew it would be hard,” said Higuita, adding that “I expected attacks.”
The Colombian especially watched Carapaz, who tried to attack on the penultimate climb to the Montjuic hill, which the runners had to climb six times, without managing to open a breach. The Olympic champion could not let go of Higuita any more than the attacks of the Norwegian Tobias Johannessen (UNO) did not succeed
The stage was for Bagioli who won the sprint against Hungarian Attila Valter (Groupama), who was second, and Spaniard Fernando Barceló (Caja Rural), who finished third in the finish line in Barcelona. The Italian was the fastest in a group that included the main favorites of the Catalan round.
“We ended up tired because the whole week has been hard, but it was a nice week,” said Higuita after a race marked by the cardiorespiratory arrest suffered by the Italian champion Sonny Colbrelli, at the start of the first stage last Monday.
The young Colombian, 24, is the third runner from Colombia to appear in the winners of the Vuelta a Catalunya after Nairo Quintana, winner in 2016, and Miguel Ángel 'Superman' López, in 2019. With this triumph, the Antioquian rider won his first title in a World Tour competition and the third title in his career.
Race: Vuelta a Colombia
Year: 2018
Winner in the 1st stage of the Vuelta a Colombia.
Race: Tour of the Alentejo
Year: 2019
Winner in the 1st stage of the Vuelta al Alentejo
Race: Tour of Spain
Year: 2019
Winner of the 1st stage of the Vuelta a España
Race: Colombia en route
Year: 2020
Colombian Road Champion
Race: Tour Colombia
Year: 2020
Champion of Tour Colombia, plus 1 stage.
Race: Colombia en route
Year: 2022
Colombian Road Champion
Race: Tour of the Algarve
Year: 2022
Champion of the 1st stage of the Vuelta al Algarve
Race: Tour of Catalonia
Year: 2022
Champion of the Tour of Catalonia
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