De Gendt closes with an exhibition the Volta of Ineos-Grenadiers: Yates, Porte and Thomas sign a historic triplet
March 28 th 2021 - 16:08
Ineos-Grenadiers appeared at the start of the 100th edition of the Volta a Catalunya as the great block to beat, with a dream team that ended up taking the final podium of the race. Adam Yates, who had already been second in the last edition of 2019, has been proclaimed the final winner of the Catalan race, accompanied on the final podium by the Australian Richie Porte, winner of the race in 2015, and Geraint Thomas, winner of the Tour de France 2018, both teammates.
All of them have known how to defend themselves in the last stage of this historic edition, which with 133 kilometers starting and finishing in Barcelona climbed to the top of the Montjuic castle up to six times to finish deciding a week of great cycling and great names of the international bunch.
The last of them, the Belgian Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), a true emblem of the leaks that has achieved his fifth victory over the Volta a Catalunya, which is added to those achieved in the 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019, the first of them also to the last stage in Montjuic.
De Gendt finished crossing the finish line with 22 seconds over the Slovenian Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), his escape partner since the first of the laps of the Barcelona circuit. The two riders have stood out from a large group of 32 cyclists that has been at the head of the race towards kilometer 50 of the stage after a very hard-fought start until the pas of the Coll de la Creu de l'Ordal (3rd category), including others riders in the group such as Marc Soler (Movistar Team) and David De Cruz (UAE Team Emirates), who has climbed to the final podium as the best Catalan in the final classification.
At 1:46 from De Gendt, the group of the leader Adam Yates (Ineos-Grenadiers) has crossed the finish line, made up of some twenty favorites who have entered the Barcelona goal at the same time despite the efforts of Movistar Team, who wanted to Alejandro Valverde climb to the final podium and he has been moving the race in the last four laps.
The defense of the British team has been impeccable, ensuring a historic final podium with Yates, Porte and Thomas in a 100th Volta a Catalunya that closes showing their great health.