Gonzalo Najar: the amazing champion of the Vuelta a San Juan
The 24-year-old Argentine rider surprised the big favorites and kept the crown at home
In the recently completed Vuelta a San Juan en Bicicleta, the unexpected happened. The Argentinean Gonzalo Najar, without being from the group of favorites to conquer the race, pedaled with class and was named champion of the extraordinary fair of professional category UCI 2.1. Najar, the 24-year-old Argentine national champion, dominated the great options for the title, among them the experienced Óscar Sevilla, Rodolfo Torres, Jarlinson Pantano and Rafael Majka, to sing victory in front of all their fans.
The victory of the runner in the service of the San Juan Workers' Union team was carved at the pulse, staying in the vanguard places from the first to the fifth stage of the event. It was then, on the sixth day, when he took advantage of a long and hot getaway from which he was part, he organized the group of fugitives in a compact block of work, and in this way he reached the victorious goal and with an advantage to ride on top of the general classification. After that day, in the seventh and last fraction, the rest was only to control the escapades of their closest pursuers by relying on the corridors of their team and the other amateur squad of Argentine territory, to support the lead and conquer for a single stage. At the moment, victory looked unthinkable.
Najar assured EFE that the key was to be certain on the day of the breakaway, since it was also the only way to beat professional teams with international riders. "It was a key day in the achievement of this Vuelta. It was a long sixth stage, with a lot of mountain from the beginning, which from the beginning of the calendar we had marked as the ideal to attack. So, knowing the land, we went on a getaway from the right moment, and we could see the dividends. Also, if we did not do it that way, with so many good climbers, it would have been impossible to win", explained the runner.
The objective: to race in Europe
In the interviews during the final day, the pedal of a humble family in the province of Jujuy made it clear his interest to be part of European cycling. He also expressed his project to become a true professional of the discipline. "It is clear that the dream of any cyclist is to compete at the highest level and in Europe are the best teams, one since he runs children dreams of the greatest, and the biggest thing is to run alongside the best in the Giro, Tour or In the end, dreams will be fulfilled, and nowadays I can say that I ran with professionals, now I can only achieve the goal of sharing with them in Europe".
Latin American Post | Freddy Gonzále z
Copy edited by Laura Rocha Rueda
