Sosa wins finale to sew up Vuelta a Burgos title
Colombian sensation attacked late to pull off the double to defend the overall at the five-day Burgos tour in northern Spain.
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There was no quarter Saturday from Iván Sosa (Ineos) in Saturday’s final stage at the Vuelta a Burgos.
The 21-year-old Colombian showed no pity on his rivals, attacking with 600m to go on the beyond-category summit at Lagunas de Neila to reel in the attacking Rui Costa (UAE-Emirates) and win the stage and secure the overall at the five-day Burgos tour.
“The team did a great job once again to set me up for a chance to win the stage,” Sosa said. “There was a big break and we had to work hard to bring it back. I was a bit on my limit, but when I saw no one could follow me when I attacked, I regrouped a bit and kept going to the line.”
Sosa repeats as Neila stage-winner and overall victor at the Burgos tour, always an important testing ground ahead of the Vuelta a España, which this coming Saturday with a team time trial in Torrevieja. This year, Sosa also won stage 3 to assure his imprint on the race.
“Last year was a bit of a learning experience for me,” he said. “This year, with the support of the team, I was able to race with more control in the key moment. It’s with great satisfaction I can bring home this victory.”
Óscar Rodríguez (Murias) and Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz (Movistar) round out the podium with second and third, respectively.
Those two are headed to the Vuelta, with Rodríguez, 24, hoping to repeat his stage-winning Vuelta from a year ago. Carapaz, racing for the first time since winning the Giro, will lead Movistar along with teammate Nairo Quintana. Though Carapaz lacked a bit of spark in the final accelerations to match Sosa this week, he looks to be on track for a solid run at the Giro-Vuelta double.
The big question remains if Sosa will race the Vuelta. He already raced the Giro in May — finishing 44th overall en route to helping teammate Pavel Sivakov hit the top-10 — but Team Ineos has yet to reveal its final Vuelta roster. Sivakov, along with Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, or perhaps the injured Chris Froome, will be racing the Spanish grand tour.